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This is an archive collection of entries from  my main personal blog, My Mundane Mid-Life.

This collection of entries is from the Category "Sports".

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wolves 3 - Marlies 2 - Shootout
posted at 10:00 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Why do they sign has beens? The White Sox agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent RHP Bartolo Colon. 8:19 PM Jan 14th from txt

posted at 08:19 PM | Link | Twitter Tweet | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Wolves 6 - IceHogs 1
posted at 09:45 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Wolves 2 - Monarchs 7
posted at 09:50 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Wolves 6 - Bruins 0
posted at 11:59 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Wolves 3 - Rivermen 2
posted at 11:10 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Monday, September 29, 2008

White Sox 8 - Tigers 2
posted at 10:30 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, September 28, 2008

White Sox 5 - Indians 1
posted at 04:10 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, September 27, 2008

White Sox 6 - Indians 12
posted at 10:00 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, September 06, 2008

White Sox 7 - Angels 6
posted at 11:25 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, August 23, 2008

White Sox 3 - Rays 5
posted at 08:05 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Baseball Park Fan Survey

Sports Illustrated did a survey of fans to determine the rankings of Major League ballparks. They had 10 categories and weighed each of them the same: Affordability, Food, Team Quality, History & Tradition, Ballpark Atmosphere, Fan Intelligence, Fan Hospitality, Promotions, Getting To The Game and finally Neighborhood.

Interesting... and since this is all about the "fan experience" at the ballpark, it's interesting to see where the parks ranked - and for what. A little unfair to the Washington Nationals as the survey was for RFK Stadium and not the new Nationals Park.

The survey was for your hometown park. Of the respondents, almost 15% were season ticket holders, and almost half went to at least 5 games a year. That means under 50% went to at least 5 games, so their fan experiences could have been based solely on one or two games... or even worse: what they've heard about the experience.

The Chicago ballparks? US Cellular Field - 8th, Wrigley Field 15th

read more of this entry »


posted at 02:52 PM | Link | Baseball | Care to comment? | § |

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wolves 1 - Moose 2 (Overtime)

Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:37 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Friday, February 15, 2008

Rockstar Curling?

OK... saw this today... and it just FEELS like it's something out of The Onion... but... could it be true?

Somebody is floating the idea of a reality show that can actually produce - as a winner - an Olympian.

So... what kind of sport would work for that? How about... curling!

Now, it has turned into a American Idol reality thing with five male and five female slots to produce the entries to the Olympic tryouts.

The cool thing, that was unfortunately false, is that at one time they were talking about "closet curlers" that are rockstars would be involved - specifically John Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. How cool would that have been? How cool would it have been for those guys to expose more people to the sport?

posted at 01:32 PM | Link | Olympics | Care to comment? | § |

Monday, February 11, 2008

STH secret presale...

w00T! Single game tickets went on sale this morning for the White Sox for Season Ticket Holders (not he general public. I love having the opportunity to get at tickets ahead of everyone else) . We grabbed-up tickets to opening day (since our package doesn't include it) and grabbed tickets for Elvis night in August.

I'm feeling better - it's feeling more like spring again... except for that snow and below zero temperatures...

posted at 11:04 AM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Wolves 3 - Admirals 1

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:35 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Wolves 4 - IceHogs 2

Chicago Wolves Rockford IceHogs

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Wolves 5 - Monarchs 2

Chicago Wolves Manchester Monarchs

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Wolves 5 - Marlies 4

Chicago Wolves Toronto Marlies

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Monday, October 29, 2007

Stealing a Taco

On the way home from work today, I had to stop by Taco Bell.

Now... why would I do that... and why would you care?

Because everyone in the United States is getting a free taco today. Now... again... why?

Because Taco Bell ran a promotion that was called "Steal a Base Steal a Taco". In a nutshell, if anybody in the World Series steals a base in a World Series game, America gets a free a free crunchy seasoned beef taco .

So - there it was: last Thursday, Game 2, bottom of the 4th. - Thank You Boston Red Sox rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (he walked after two out, and stole second in a 2-1 win by Boston over Colorado)

The place wasn't crowded at all... you could only cash-in today from 2pm-5pm. I can't imagine what the chain's 5,800 stores were like during all of this.

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:50 PM | Link | Mundane | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Another season over

Boston sweeps Colorado in the World Series... and thus brings to a close another baseball season...

My heart goes into hibernation until the spring...

posted at 11:32 PM | Link | Mundane | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Wolves 2 - Admirals 1 - Overtime - Home Opener

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:46 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, October 06, 2007

So sorry.

The Natural Order of things has returned to normal in Chicago.

posted at 08:31 PM | Link | Cubs | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, September 30, 2007

White Sox 3 - Tigers 13

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:57 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, September 29, 2007

White Sox 3 - Tigers 2

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

read more of this entry »


posted at 01:57 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Friday, September 28, 2007

Wolves 3 - Monsters 6 - PRESEASON

Chicago Wolves Lake Erie Monsters

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:04 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, August 05, 2007

A bit of relief?

On Thursday morning, I lamented about I how I was feeling due to Baseball in Chicago.

I feel only SLIGHTLY better today.

The Sox won 4 straight, sweeping the Detroit Tigers knocking them out of first place, and are 7-3 in their last 10.

The Cubs lost tonight, are 5-5 in their last 10, and dropped a game out of first place.

Now, look... this has been just a crazy year... and I'm not saying that these teams are finally doing what I had expected them to do... far from it.

It's Chicago. It's August.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. You just never know.

posted at 09:35 PM | Link | Baseball | Care to comment? | § |

Thursday, August 02, 2007

A city full of ties

My world is crumbling in front of me...

My team, the Chicago White Sox are tied for last place in the AL Central Division (13 games out with the Kansas City Royals).

And... there's that "other" team... the Chicago Cubs are tied for first in the NL Central Division with the Milwaukee Brewers (6 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals).

I feel ill.

And, with the Cubs up for sale, I have to admit that there's a noble campaign going on: a group of Chicagoans working to facilitate a fan-owned buyout of the Chicago Cubs and restore the voice of the fans within baseball - 4FansSake.com

posted at 08:19 AM | Link | Baseball | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, July 29, 2007

White Sox 1 - Blue Jays 4

Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:43 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, July 28, 2007

White Sox 2 - Blue Jays 0

Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:34 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, July 08, 2007

White Sox 6 - Twins 3

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

read more of this entry »


posted at 06:05 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, July 07, 2007

White Sox 3 - Twins 1

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

read more of this entry »


posted at 08:05 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Friday, May 04, 2007

Wolves 4 - Stars 5 - West Division Final Game 2

Chicago Wolves Iowa Stars

read more of this entry »


posted at 11:04 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Wolves 7 - Stars 0 - West Division Final Game 1

Chicago Wolves Iowa Stars

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:18 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, April 29, 2007

White Sox 2 - Angels 5

Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:57 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Saturday, April 28, 2007

White Sox 0 - Angels 3

Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:52 PM | Link | White Sox | Care to comment? | § |

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Wolves 4 - Admirals 1 - West Division Semifinal Game 2

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 08:46 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Friday, April 20, 2007

Wolves 3 - Admirals 2 - West Division Semifinal Game 1

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Wolves 5 - Moose 2

Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:17 PM | Link | Wolves | Care to comment? | § |

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Wolves 4 - Rivermen 3

Chicago Wolves Peoria Rivermen

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:31 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Wolves 4 - Admirals 6

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Wolves 3 - Bulldogs 6

Chicago Wolves Hamilton Bulldogs

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Friday, March 02, 2007

He can be worth how much?

Have you heard about this story about a minor league pitcher?

Matt White. 29 years old. Only pitched 9 2/3 innings in the majors, over 9 professional seasons in just 7 games. Journeyman. He's a non-roster invitee to Dodgers spring training. Can he make the team? Doubtful, I think. But, I think he'll do OK...

Flash back 3 years ago. His great aunt was going into a nursing home and needed to raise some cash. He bought a 50-acre mountain-top lot of hers for $50,000.

He starts to clear 4 acres of the land to build a house, but had problems because they kept hitting these large flat rocks. There was so much rock, that he called a local geologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to find out what it was.

It's mica schist, a slate-like shiny metamorphic stone used for patio decks and other construction.

OK, cool... you can sell it. It sells for $100 a ton. Now, it's gonna cost money to get the rock removed.

But... let's do some quick calculations...

$100 per ton... The geologist estimated there were 24 million tons of the stone on his land.

This journeyman pitcher, that didn't make more than $300,000 in his entire career... is sitting on... potentially...

$2.4 BILLION of rock.

posted at 08:48 AM | Link | Baseball | § |

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Wolves 0 - Knights 2

Chicago Wolves Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:50 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Wolves 6 - Crunch 2

Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch

read more of this entry »


posted at 07:50 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Wolves 4 - Marlies 5

Chicago Wolves Toronto Marlies

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Wolves 3 - Bulldogs 6

Chicago Wolves Hamilton Bulldogs

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:37 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Friday, January 12, 2007

Wolves 0 - Pengiuns 1

Chicago Wolves Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:34 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Wolves 3 - Americans 5

Chicago Wolves Rochester Americans

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Wolves 2 - Admirals 3 (Shoot-out)

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:33 PM | Link | Wolves | 1 comment | § |

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Wolves 5 - Stars 2

Chicago Wolves Iowa Stars

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:23 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Wolves 5 - Rampage 4

Chicago Wolves San Antonio Rampage

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:25 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Wolves 5 - Griffins 3

Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Sunday, November 05, 2006

7-1

Boy, the team looked BAD... and they had to lose against.. the Dolphins???

So much for 16-0...

posted at 03:55 PM | Link | Bears | § |

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Wolves 3 - Phantoms 2

Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:57 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
One year ago today...

What happened a year ago tonight?

The Chicago White Sox won the World Series.

It's now time to crown a new champion... and we become.. nothing. Losers. Not even in the playoffs when we should have been.

I'm rooting for St. Louis.. I don't want want the Detroit Tigers to win... that way, in my twisted head, the White Sox will still be the last American League winner of the World Series...

Twisted...

posted at 06:42 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Wolves 4 - Moose 7

Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:23 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Sticking it to Chicago baseball fans

The title refers to the 2006 World Series.

You see, no matter which Chicago baseball team you favor, root for, die for... this year's World Series has to feel painful.

Why?

Well, if you follow the White Sox (as I do), then having the Detroit Tigers - the team's nemesis from your own division - as the American League rep, just stings like hell.

Now... if you follow that "other" Chicago baseball team (the Chicago Cubs), then you're in the same situation: the team's nemesis from your own division - the St. Louis Cardinals - as the National League representative.

Both representatives from their Central Division. OUR division.

Ouch.. that hurts... (WE should be there!)

posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Baseball | § |

Monday, October 16, 2006

Barely 6-0

Monday Night Football - the death knell for the Chicago Bears since 1997, their 5-0 unbeaten record on the line.

Halftime - the Bears look awful, and are losing 20-0. No offense (Rex Grossman looks as if his success has been a fluke), the defense looks terrible against the pass. They suck.

All of a sudden, they returned two fumbles for touchdowns. Then Devin Hester returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 remaining to take the lead.

Yep.. they won 24-23. 6-0. Unbeaten.

(NFL.Com Gamecenter Game Stats)

posted at 11:12 PM | Link | Bears | § |

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Wolves 1 - Admirals 5

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:36 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Thursday, October 12, 2006

White Sox + 7-Eleven = 7:11

Oh, crap... more ways to get corporate sponsorship (and revenue) at a ball game: White Sox enter partnership with 7-Eleven. Now, guess what times Night Games will start at U.S. Cellular Field during the week during 2007?

Yep. 7:11 pm. For the next three years.

Now... how about even more expensive seats at the park? They're MOVING the Press Box behind Home Plate. The old Press Box on the mezzanine level of the ball park is being converted into a new club lounge featuring 220 premium seats, with a lounge and restaurant-type food service. The new seating area will retain the movable windows of the press box. The seats will cost $250 each and will be available only in a full season-ticket plan, and went on sale Monday. The press gets to move to the 400 Level of the stadium along the first-base side.

The team's only other off-season renovation will be the continued replacement of blue seats to green seats throughout the park. About damn time! We'll finally get our new seats... and rumor has it that they will actually be pitched/turned/twisted to face more toward the plate.

posted at 01:18 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Adding Insult to Injury

Less than 24 hours after being eliminated from play-off contention, guess what I got in a DHL Express packet today?

Yep.

My playoff tickets.

Bastards.

posted at 08:28 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Monday, September 25, 2006

Officially Over

The White Sox played Cleveland tonight - Lost 14-1.

The team was officially eliminated from the playoffs.

I knew it was coming... it doesn't diminish the hurt that I feel about a team that played so far under their potential.

No ALDS. No ALCS. No World Series.

Crap... I enjoyed them so much last year.. I got used to them.

As far as I am concerned, he season is over. They are dead to me now.

posted at 10:28 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, September 24, 2006

White Sox 12 - Mariners 7

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:15 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, September 23, 2006

White Sox 11 - Mariners 7

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

read more of this entry »


posted at 05:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, September 10, 2006

White Sox 2 - Indians 5
posted at 04:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, September 09, 2006

White Sox 10 - Indians 8
posted at 11:08 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, August 27, 2006

White Sox 6 - Twins 1

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:30 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, August 26, 2006

White Sox 7 - Twins 8 - 11 Innings

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

read more of this entry »


posted at 11:48 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

How dare you

So, after a WONDERFUL weekend of sweeping the Detroit Tigers, and LOSING to the Kansas City Royals (UPDATE: We lost EVEN WORSE tonight!). what come in the mail today?

THE INVOICE FOR POSTSEASON TICKETS.

Damn you!

Have our seat assignments.. still downstairs but out toward the right field foul pole. Included - parking for all ticketed events, seats to all 3 (possible) American League Division Series, Home Game 2 of the American League Championship Series and Home Game 2 of the World Series.

Excited? Well... yes... if the team would just PLAY a little better..

posted at 05:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, August 13, 2006

White Sox 7 - Tigers 3

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

read more of this entry »


posted at 05:59 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, August 12, 2006

White Sox 4 - Tigers 3

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:57 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Friday, August 11, 2006

White Sox 5 - Tigers 0

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

read more of this entry »


posted at 11:52 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Not a winner

0 – 7 – 2 – 8 – 3 – 1
0 – 1 – 5 – 6 – 2 – 3
0 – 2 – 0 – 8 – 6 – 7

Chicago White Sox Charities 2005 World Series Ring Raffle. 3 fans get a REAL World Series Ring... with their name on it.

Nuts. Didn't win.

posted at 07:14 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Grinder Bash

The White Sox threw a party for season ticket holders today (actually, on Thursday and Friday, too). They used to do this almost every year. They suspended this or a few years, because the park had renovations being done, almost year long. Now, that the season ticket base has grown so dramatically, the team decided to throw another party.

I LOVE these things. There's something special about being in the park - when the team isn't there playing ball. I took my buddy Barry to share this unusual event.

read more of this entry »


posted at 07:03 PM | Link | Mundane | § |

Sunday, July 23, 2006

White Sox 5 - Rangers 0

Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:25 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, July 22, 2006

White Sox 3 - Rangers 1

Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:32 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

What to go A.L.!

Another Amercan League All-Str winner! Thanks, Ozzie! What a way to win - in the top of the 9th!


(Boxscore)

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:38 PM | Link | Baseball | § |

Sunday, July 09, 2006

White Sox 6 - Red Sox 5 - 19 INNINGS

Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:34 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, July 08, 2006

White Sox 6 - Red Sox 9

Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:32 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, June 25, 2006

White Sox 10 - Astros 9 - 13 Innings

Chicago White Sox Houston Astros

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posted at 10:58 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, June 24, 2006

White Sox 6 - Astros 5 - 10 Innings

Chicago White Sox Houston Astros

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Annual Yard Sale

Get up early (for a Saturday) and hit the road for the South Side...

It's that time again... time for the White Sox Annual Yard Sale at the park (U.S. Cellular Field).

The line was long when we got there, but it was awfully spread out, with lots of people bringing chairs to sit in while they wait.

The best thing about the event is that all the proceeds go to White Sox Charities.

With that in mind, we went looking for clothing.. we had bought jackets here in the past (yes, authentic, player-worn jackets), and they didn't have ANY this year! They really brought out the odd stuff... banners used around the city for "Rally Monday", the rally downtown before the World Series, empty bottles of Champagne from each of the locker room celebrations during the playoffs ($60-$100), full sheet World Series Tickets (un-printed with seat info). I wanted some bunting that was displayed at the park (MLB authenticated), but that was $50 each and the bunting was small.

They had the regular selection of things - used hats, bats, helmets, an AWFUL lot of catcher's gear this year compared to last, lots of equipment bags, helmet bags... and of course what everybody goes after - jerseys. The real deal.

We weren't even close to being the first one's in line, and back in January, at Sox Fest, they always set up a "Garage Sale" room that people must have rifled through, because the jersey selection - though large - didn't have a lot of jerseys by the somewhat major players, let alone the major players. If you wanted a jersey of a pitcher that was barely in the majors for a few weeks, there were a ton of them (including ones for the World Series complete with World Series patch on the sleeve). There were prior years players that they haven't got rid of yet. Lot's of BP windshirts and "tops" (wouldn't call them jerseys).

The surprising pieces to me were at the extreme left of the left rack in the row of racks.

Here were the jerseys of Major players now gone. Jerseys you would have NEVER seen in any rack in any year. These were put aside as special and if you were lucky, you could ask to get one. The one that caught my eye? FRANK THOMAS. NEVER would have been in the rack. Now that he's gone, he's there. Now granted, it was REALLY expensive (I think $1,000), but it was still in the rack. I knew that I had hit the right part in the rack... they guys that are gone... tons of Carl Everett jerseys... Shingo Takatsu... guys who were good and made a difference. But the one guy I thought that made a difference and we hated to see him go, was the one I was after. I snatched it up and walked away from the racks quickly. The Jersey? Aaron Rowand.

That's all we bought this year... nothing else caught our eye... the great thing is that THIS year at checkout, you got a form to fill out stating that the items you bought were to benefit a charity, thus ding..ding..ding..ding..ding Tax Writeoff.

I just love going to the park for special events, like this one, when there isn't a game. It's just feels special. There was another event going on that you had to pay to participate - playing catch in the outfield. It's reall typical for Dads to bring their youngsters, with their mitt and balls, and you're allowed onto the field for an hour to play catch. the day before Father's Day. How cool is that?

posted at 01:16 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, June 11, 2006

White Sox 8 - Indians 10

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, June 10, 2006

White Sox 4 - Indians 3 - 11 Innings

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:47 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, June 04, 2006

White Sox 2 - Rangers 10

Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, May 21, 2006

White Sox 4 - Cubs 7

Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:24 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, May 20, 2006

White Sox 7 - Cubs 0

Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

read more of this entry »


posted at 03:53 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, May 07, 2006

White Sox 3 - Royals 2

Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, May 06, 2006

White Sox 9 - Royals 2

Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:49 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, April 23, 2006

White Sox 7 - Twins 3

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:39 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, April 22, 2006

White Sox 9 - Twins 2

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

read more of this entry »


posted at 11:34 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Thursday, April 20, 2006

White Sox Ticket Sales

Had to write something here for the White Sox fans out there...

... as of yesterday, the Sox have now passed last year's season total for tickets sold.

April 19. Not bad for advance sales. Hopefully we can live up to expectations...

posted at 12:40 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Sunday, April 16, 2006

White Sox 6 - Blue Jays 4

Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:46 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Wolves 6 - Aeros 5

Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
White Sox 4 - Blue Jays 2

Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:43 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

No Wolves

Was just watching the game on Comcast Cable.

The Wolves have been eliminated from playoff contention by their 5-4 loss in overtime.

I Believe this is the first time in franchise history that the Wolves didn't make the playoffs.

Great. I think I feel a shakeup coming on...

posted at 09:48 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Wolves 1 - Stars 4

Chicago Wolves Iowa Stars

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Wolves | § |

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

White Sox 2 - Indians 8

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

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posted at 10:53 PM | Link | White Sox | § |

Monday, April 03, 2006

Still in Fist Place

I woke up and felt the need to see if the White Sox were still playing.

Sure enough, they were.

They got themselves into a 3-3 tie in the top of the 4th when the rains came. No, DELUGE.

Total Rain Delay time: 2 hours 57 minutes.

Sox won 10-4 around 1:10 in the morning.

posted at 01:19 AM | Link | White Sox | § |

Friday, March 24, 2006

Wolves 4 - Aeros 2

Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

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posted at 11:08 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Wolves 3 - Rivermen 4 (Shootout)

Chicago Wolves Peoria Rivermen

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posted at 11:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Wolves 6 - Americans 4

Chicago Wolves Rochester Americans

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posted at 10:51 PM | Link | Wolves | 1 comment § |

Friday, March 03, 2006

Wolves 5 - Griffins 2

Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

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posted at 11:14 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Wolves 2 - Moose 5

Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

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posted at 10:26 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Game On!

YEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!

Sitting at my desk and listening to baseball on the radio!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, it's preseaon.

OK, it's a different station covering the games.

OK, it's a different broadcast team covering the games.

But, it's baseball!!!!

posted at 02:04 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Monday, February 27, 2006

The Idiot

I've never been a fan of Frank Thomas.

Now, he may be destined for the Hall of Fame. He really did contribute for years for the Chicago White Sox. He was a big deal.

Was.

He also could have had this city wrapped around his little finger. If he would just shut-up, or say a few things a certain way. Maybe even actually do a few charity things. No. He squandered what he had. He got hurt. He stopped producing meaningful numbers. He wasn't a go-to guy, he was a goat.

His time had come a long time ago, passed, and yet he lingered a bit too long. When the team finally gets together and wins the World Series for the first time in 88 years, his 35 games/109 At-Bats/.219 average barely contributes.

And now he's in Oakland.

Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams called former slugger Frank Thomas" an idiot'' over the weekend, because Frank continues to whine about the way he was treated. A selfish man, who refused to play first base, who hadn't played a full season since 2003, didn't like the way he was treated.

Yeah, we treated him well. Too well. He should have been gone years ago under that "diminished skills'' clause of his contract.

Idiot. Shut-up and play for your new team. You're showing your whining to your new team now, and I hope they're listening. No "I" in "team", my friend.

posted at 01:40 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Wolves 8 - Barons 0

Chicago Wolves Cleveland Barons

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posted at 11:11 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, February 17, 2006

Less tickets on sale today

The White Sox put up tickets for sale to the general public today. They also said that - for the first time on franchise history - they have sold 2 Million Tickets before Opening Day.

We already have sell outs:

All games available except Sunday, April 2 vs. Cleveland Tuesday, April 4 vs. Cleveland Saturday, May 6 vs. Kansas City Friday, May 19 vs. Cubs Saturday, May 20 vs. Cubs Sunday, May 21 vs. Cubs Friday, July 7 vs. Boston Saturday, July 8 vs. Boston Sunday, July 9 vs. Boston Thursday, August 10 vs. New York, which are sold out.

posted at 09:24 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

WE DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A SEASON TICKET HOLDER...

I'm full of all kinds of emotions right now, the major ones are anger and hurt.

For the first time since becoming a Split Season Ticket Holder for the White Sox since January of 1996, Carol and I will be missing Opening Day.

Why?

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posted at 11:25 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Wolves 1 - Phantoms 6

Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms

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posted at 10:26 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Strong women

Torino 2006
After watching the Canadian Women's Hockey team beat Italy 14-0, I'm convinced they could possibly beat the Chicago Wolves.

posted at 01:32 PM | Link | Olympics § |

Friday, February 10, 2006

XX Games open

Torino 2006
The games are open.

I love HDTV.

Why American 70's/80's music to march the teams into the stadium?

Did Luciano Pavarotti actually sing or was it tape? He sure wasn't straining at all. There wasn't enough close-ups for a definitive answer.

posted at 11:04 PM | Link | Olympics § |

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Wolves 1 - Crunch 3

Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch

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posted at 09:10 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, January 27, 2006

Fest-less

Just got off the phone with our pal Janie. None of us is going to SoxFest, which starts in under an hour. Of all years to not pay attention to when tickets were on sale, the year in which the World Series should not be one of them. It would have been a great night... or weekend, but I screwed-up. We screwed-up. Nuts.

Came home to find the invoice to sign-up for the Stadium Club for the year. For a split-season ticket package it went up over $100 to $550. It's worth it for the beginning of the season when it's cold & rainy. It's worth it for those 90 degree summer days. And boy is it worth it in post-season. We split it with Janie & Gary and it works out. Pretty upset the price went up, though...

posted at 04:11 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Changes at TPFKAC™

Hearing rumors about some of the changes going on at Comiskey... "The Joan"... "The Cell"... US Cellular Field... whatever. (Still pissed-off about the name of the place and it's been three years).

Went looking through WhiteSoxInteractive and found some disturbing stories.

I've been waiting years to change the color of the seating from that pool blue to green, the way ballparks should look. I got all excited when they made the announcement that it was going to happen. So it started last year, and it was supposed to progress through last season. Never did. This off-season, they've gone through, starting upstairs, and ripped out all the seats and replaced them (as of this writing, they're not complete - the last two sections are to done - somehow they received the wrong seats). The started working downstairs - but only up to the dugouts. that's right, my section WON'T be getting new seats this season for the second year in a row. there's no explanation why. Here's where the rumor and speculation come in: in the majority of "modern" ballparks, the seats in these areas are specially built so they are canted toward the infield, sort of like setting the seats at a 12 degree angle while keeping the whole row straight. Now, if that's what they're doing, then I'll shutup and relish in the canted seat next year. If that's not what happening, and they're just stalling again, then I'm going to be pissed, because who sits in these seats? The Partial Season Ticket Holders, who are slowly starting to feel screwed by the team (the possible inability to get Opening Night tickets was the beginning of the mistreatment).

On a different subject, what may be the most disturbing news for me.

Nancy Faust will not be playing organ at all of the games in 2006. In fact, she's only playing day games. Nancy says it's her idea. Perhaps it's the beginning of a retirement after what will be 37 years of playing the organ.

I know that people want to hear something more modern, like the clips that are played for the home players when they come up to bat. (Nancy plays pieces for the visiting teams batters).

It's baseball. You've got to have organ music.

You gotta have Nancy.

posted at 11:17 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Wolves 4 - Admirals 6

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

20,000 and climbing

The White Sox announced that Season Ticket sales have passed 20,000, the highest in franchise history. This is allowing General Manager Ken Williams to raise the payroll to $95 million, certainly something that can't hurt the team. The downside? Because of the way MLB handles postseason tickets, anybody buying a full Season Ticket after January 15 (or Partial after January 9) will NOT get any options to buy Postseason tickets. A waiting list has been created for people that want to get the postseason options. WAITING LIST. The Sox have a WAITING LIST for Season Tickets (soft of). I NEVER thought this would happen in this town. There's also a RUMOR floating around (it's just a rumor) that - because of the number of Season Tickets being sold - the popular Dog Day promotion may be canceled because there will be too many Season Ticket Holders that will need to be displaced when the bleachers are vacated to make room for the dogs and their owners. Another rumor going around - due to the new City of Chicago Smoking Ordinance, U.S. Cellular Field will now be smoke-free. (As a non-smoker, all I can say is "YES!")

posted at 11:22 AM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

Friday, December 30, 2005

Wolves 11 - Rivermen 5

Chicago Wolves Peoria Rivermen

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posted at 10:46 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, December 23, 2005

Wolves 3 - Bears 4 (Overtime)

Chicago Wolves Hershey Bears

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posted at 10:37 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Wolves 3 - Admirals 4

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, November 25, 2005

Wolves Announcement


Went to the Wolves practice facility here in town. I was too curious about this Media Alter from Wednesday night. There was a big tournament going on, so there were a lot of parents and kids there, but no indication of a press conference.

I talked to a few people and the rumor flying around was that Bobby Hull was in the building.

That seems like two different things going on at once.

I was wrong.

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posted at 10:56 AM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Wolves 4 - Hamilton 2

Chicago Wolves Hamilton Bulldogs

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posted at 10:32 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Wolves 3 - Admirals 2

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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posted at 11:00 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

100 days

Torino 2006
Just 100 days until the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino (or is it Turin?) Italy (February 10, 2006).

posted at 08:51 AM | Link | Olympics § |

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

How much change is good change?

Here's were it's all going to start for the 2006 White Sox - the first player movements.

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posted at 09:10 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, October 28, 2005

Wearing the Championship

People swarming over Championship apparel
Carol left me in charge of getting our World Series championship apparel, so I went over to Dick's Sporting Goods after work. Last time I was there they didn't have anything with any playoff logo on it. Guess that all changes when a team becomes World Champions - they carved-out a really good sized area in front of the store and loaded it with merchandise. Apparently this is going on all over town - sporting goods storing opening hours earlier than normal and the merchandise is just being scooped-up.

posted at 04:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Streaming Video is a good thing

Local TV stations in Chicago started their coverage of the White Sox celebration (a celebratory motorcade from the park though the neighborhoods to the Board of Exchange, followed by a "Ticker Tape Parade" down La Salle street (like they still use ticker tape... I heard they're using shredded-up Chicago Sun-Times newspapers... in my opinion a good use of the Sun-Times, but that's gotta look crappy) and a rally in the midle of La Salle and Wacker, right at the river.

Anyway, some of the local stations (Channels 2, 5, 7, and 9) are streaming their coverage over the web so I'll be able to watch from my desk!

Update: Sign in the crowd downtown: JOE CREDE I WANT TO GO TO THIRD BASE WITH YOU

posted at 11:03 AM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Water Canons

I guess the White Sox just landed at Midway and the cool thing was that their plane (looked like an American Airlines 757) was welcomed with a traditional Fire Department Water Canon salute (it's where the fire department water canon trucks will setup opposite each other off of a taxiway and shoot a curtain of water into the air over the taxiway that the plane taxi's underneath). It's cool to watch because that's something that only done on very special occasions and I've never seen it done at a Chicago airport.

posted at 03:31 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
WORLD SERIES BLOG

CHICAGO WHITE SOX - 2005- WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS


Not much to say here... I'm kinda overwhelmed and overcome with emotions, I guess.

To follow one team all your life and finally see them win the championship.

Priceless.

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posted at 11:05 AM | Link | White Sox § |
That's 3

Damn it. Fell asleep in the friggin' chair watching the game. Woke up when the local Fox news was on after the game. Checked TiVo, but it stopped after Uribe's at bat in the 14th, right after Blum's homerun. (have been TiVo-ing all of the games and copying them off to DVD... just for "posterity")

14 innings (The only other World Series game that lasted 14 innings was on Oct. 9, 1916, when the Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 2) Five hours and 41 minutes. (longest (time) in World Series history). 482 pitches. 17 pitchers (the previous high of was 13 for a World Series game). Most walks in a World Series game - 21. Most walks by one team was a record, too, for the Sox - 12. Most players used in a World Series game - 43. The 30 men left on base, 15 by each team, were the most in a World Series game. Most combined Double Plays - 6. Scott Podsednik became the first player to have eight official at-bats in a Series game. First World Series game played in the state of Texas.

I knew it was going to be a rough game. If the Sox didn't win, I wasn't too concerned thinking that the Astros and fans would be pretty pumped. They were but everyone sure fell silent ion the 5th when we scored 5 runs to take the lead after being down 4-0 (especially off their "superstar" pitcher Roy Oswalt, who everybody was raving about, to the point of giving him a win for the game handily without him even throwing a pitch - like he was predestined and nobody could touch him).

Hope I can stay up and watch the game tonight!

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posted at 01:47 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, October 22, 2005

World Series Shopping

We're having company over tonight - a perfect time to get out of the house to let Carol clean it without ME being around.

Besides, I've got places I need to go and see.

After all, the World Series is in town for the first time in 47 years.

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posted at 02:43 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, October 21, 2005

If the sky's gonna fall, at least let's make the place look good...

The Picasso statue in Daley Plaza is wearing a Sox hat.

The two lions in front of the Art Institute are being fitted for hats and will be wearing them shortly.

(I don't know this statue) the hoofs of a downtown sculpture titled "The Bowman and The Spearman" are to outfitted with white socks in time for tomorrow night's Game One against the Houston Astros.

The mayor's office is distributing 20,000 Ozzie Guillen masks. (That's supposed to make the place look better?)

posted at 02:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Today has become "The Sky Is Falling" day

Today, the White Sox and the media are laying it on thick. The World Series is coming to town, but if you don't have a ticket, don't bother getting anywhere close.

The first game starts tomorrow night. The police & FBI are blocking of the streets for a block around the park. Nobody without a ticket gets inside the area. On top of that, there will be random car searches. I remember 2 years ago the searches they were doing around the park prior to the All-Star Game. The real unnerving part? They had guys with Geiger counters checking for radiation coming from the cars... makes you wonder if they heard"chatter" about a "threat". And, jeez, the World Series is a pretty big public event... Great...

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posted at 11:39 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Houston, eh?

So we finally find out what opponent we have for the World Series:

Chicago White Sox vs Houston Astros

It's going to be a long, well fought series.

posted at 10:50 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Tickets? HA!

World Series tickets went on sale at noon today.

Gone in 18 minutes.

Thank God we have ours already. There weren't a lot of tickets available anyway - I've heard 2,00-4,000.

Still don't know who we're playing.

Update: Well, it's Houston.

Update: Here's the word on tickets from the Inside The White Sox blog, written by Scott Reifert, their Vice President of Communications:

I've gotten quite a few questions about how the tickets are distributed. The White Sox get our allotment for STH, etc. Then MLB takes a big chunk for the following: MLB sponsors, licensees, broadcasting partners, the media, all other 28 teams, every MLB player, umpire, etc.

What's left goes on sale to the public, which was just over 10,000 tickets available to the general public for the four games. If you figure there were 140,000 people trying to get 2,500 opportunities (since each could buy four tickets), you can determine how tough the odds are and how many fans were disappointed.

Update: This should put us in our place. 10,000 tickets in 18 minutes? How about Tickets for Wrestlemania 22, to be held in Chicago on April 2nd of next year at the Allstate Arena, were put on sale last week -- and sold out in less than two minutes. And that was 15,000 tickets.

posted at 06:15 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, October 16, 2005

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

CHICAGO WHITE SOX - AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS - 2005


MLB ALCS BLOG

I didn't think we'd win 4 straight and actually go to the World Series! 4 straight games of complete game pitching?

This is unheard of.

Paul Konerko gets the ALCS MVP trophy.

No World Series appearance since 1959. 46 years. 16,825 days between qualifications.

No World Series win since 1917. 88 years. (let's not get ahead of ourselves)

I wish I could explain to you the feeling of following a team all your life and the team finally makes it to the championship. It's unbelievable.

Yes, there's tears. Tears of joy. I can't explain it. Relief. Pride. Excitement.

(Boxscore)

posted at 10:41 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Wolves 1 - Moose 3

Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

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posted at 10:53 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, October 07, 2005

Sweep? Sweep? SWEEP!
MLB ALDS BLOG

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posted at 07:33 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, October 02, 2005

OK, now that the season's over...

For the first time in a while (actually, only 5 years but it's long enough) it's time to get ready for post-season baseball.

But it took until today to figure out what was going on. We swept the Cleveland Indians (which I was surprised/shocked about).

We end the season TIED for the best record in all of baseball (best in the AL at least - we tied with the ST. Louis Cardinals) - 99-63. I think that's an OK comeback from our little "slide". (The Cardinals had the best record in baseball at 100-62. We came pretty damn close after losing our best record to them in August)

So, here's how the AL plays out for the ALDS First Round:

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posted at 03:42 PM | Link | White Sox | 2 comments § |

Thursday, September 29, 2005

As John Rooney would say... "Another White Sox Winner!"

Chicago White Sox

MAGIC NUMBER 1 but it doesn't matter...

CHICAGO WHITE SOX - AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS - 2005


Chicago White Sox 2005 American League Central Division Champions
Chicago's victory reduced its magic number to one, clinching a tie for the American League Central title. But even if the Indians were to sweep the three-game set at Jacobs Field this weekend, thus clinching a playoff berth, the White Sox would win the tiebreaker for the AL Central crown with an 11-8 edge in head-to-head play.

The reason the White Sox and Indians wouldn't play a one-game playoff is because, with the Red Sox and Yankees playing each other this weekend, one team would be guaranteed to finish out of the playoffs if the Indians swept the White Sox. And in instances in which two teams from the same division are guaranteed to make the playoffs, MLB does not use a one-game playoff, instead relying on head-to-head records to break the tie.

Alight, this is pretty damn exciting. I feel great. MY team is number one, and the Chicago National League Baseball Club is nowhere to be seen this year. We've taken all the crap you North Siders have dished out, and this particular year you've got nothing. Your team didn't even get to .500. So shut the hell up this year - next year, we're on again. This year - SHUT UP.

However, I will graciously extend my arm to help out anybody willing to jump on the bandwagon to see how far we can ride it this year.

I realize I live in Chicago. I realize we don't have the greatest history when it comes to championships with any professional team in the city. We may get no further than this round. This is OK. Like I said, come 2006 it's "Game On" all over again.

Here's two seemingly opposite stats that bring the whole year in focus as a great start and a sickening slide at the end: Only the 10th team in history to be in first place every day of the season, and the only team in history to have a 15-game lead drop below three games, And we still won it with 3 games to spare.

It sure is nice feeling being on top. Again.

I'm just excited that we get to raise a flag on Opening Day next year. I just wonder what it will say?

(White Sox 4 - Tigers 2 - Boxscore)

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posted at 02:26 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Magic Number 2 1 2

Oh, crap... I don't know how my body is going to survive the stress.

One more game against Detroit.

3 final games against our nemesis Cleveland.

Magic Number is reduced with each White Sox win or Cleveland loss.

Magic Number to clinch the division.

Update: Magic numbers are so confusing... If we want to limp-in, the Magic Number is 1.

BUT - If we win tomorrow, and Cleveland wins the rest of 3-game series against them, WE TIE for the AL Central. But then, the White Sox would win the tiebreaker for the American League Central by an 11-8 record in head-to-head competition.

Oh, and let's muddy the water with a coin-toss: If we limp-in with a Wild Card spot, The Sox won a coin toss to host a possible one-game Wild Card playoff contest against either the Yankees or Red Sox on Monday (because the Yankees or the Red Sox are guaranteed 2 losses this weekend - they 're playing a 3-game series against each other)

posted at 09:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Monday, September 26, 2005

Wolves 5 - Rivermen 6 - Preseason

Chicago Wolves Peoria Rivermen

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posted at 09:08 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Sunday, September 25, 2005

White Sox 4 - Twins 1

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

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posted at 05:05 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, September 24, 2005

White Sox 8 - Twins 1

Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

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posted at 10:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, September 23, 2005

Great. Taunt me.

My 2005 Post Season Tickets - of course, with the important stuff blocked-out!
So, guess what came in the mail yesterday.

My playoff and World Series tickets.

I think that stabbing pain I had yesterday (which hasn't gone away, it's just "significantly muted") was to show me what a Cub Fan feels like.

read more of this entry »


posted at 08:49 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, September 11, 2005

White Sox 1 - Angels 6

Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels

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posted at 09:45 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, September 10, 2005

White Sox 5 - Angels 10

Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels

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posted at 04:59 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, September 04, 2005

White Sox 2 - Tigers 0

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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posted at 05:44 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, September 03, 2005

White Sox 6 - Tigers 2

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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posted at 09:12 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, August 21, 2005

White Sox 6 - Yankees 2

Chicago White Sox New York Yankees

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posted at 09:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, August 20, 2005

White Sox 0 - Yankees 5

Chicago White Sox New York Yankees

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posted at 04:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Invoice - $995

I came home from work today and there it was in my mailbox.

An invoice.

For Post Season tickets.

read more of this entry »


posted at 04:37 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Ted Radcliffe - 1902-2005

Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe is wheeled-out by Harold Baines to throw out the first pitch on his 100th birthday! July 7, 2002 102-year-old Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe watching the game
Baseball lost it's oldest player today (103!). I used to see him around the park - he loved going to White Sox games (his retirement center was only a half mile from the park).

Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe was an old Negro League player who got his nickname (from Damon Runyan) from playing a double-header - catching the first game of the double-header and pitching the second game!

A little bit of history is gone from the park. I hope he enjoyed watching this season. I wished he would have seen the whole season this year - including what just may happen this fall.

posted at 03:00 PM | Link | Baseball § |

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Stupid Yankee Fan

A fan sits suspended in the netting behind the plate as he reportedly fell into the netting from the upper deck in the 8th inning as the Chicago White Sox played the NY Yankees at Yankee Stadium. (Newsday photo/ Paul J. Bereswill)
Carol and I were watching the Sox game tonight when something really bizarre happened.

It was the bottom of the eighth - the Sox were winning against the Yankees in New York.

All of a sudden, you hear the fans get riled-up. The TV crew takes to a shot of - some fan that fell out of the upper deck and is now laying in the net attached to the backstop! Holy crap!

Update: There are reports that the kid jumped. 18-year-old Scott Harper of Armonk, N.Y. told three friends he was sitting with that he was going to test whether the net would hold his weight -- and then he jumped, police said.

Harper was arrested and police expect to charge him with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Idiot.

I do like these comments, though:

"I've never seen anything like that before," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think that's New York, you know, anything can happen."

"That was the only exciting thing that happened today," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said.

posted at 08:55 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, August 07, 2005

White Sox 3 - Mariners 1

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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posted at 09:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, August 06, 2005

White Sox 4 - Mariners 2

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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posted at 10:19 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, August 05, 2005

White Sox 2 - Mariners 4

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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posted at 11:46 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Schaumburg Flyers

Every year, Carol's company has an outing to see a Schaumburg Flyers baseball game. Today, it was another one of those days that we've been having - 90's, high humidity. Not conducive to watching a baseball game (an Independence League baseball game at that). Just as Carol was stepping out of the shower to get dressed tonight (she's still on "vacation") a thunderstorm moved through and the heavens opened-up. It was obvious it was one of those localized storms, or it could have been a remnant of a front that - what seems to be a daily occurrence - pushes through the region but as soon as it hits the Chicago area, it just breaks apart - never producing any lasting rain. I wanted to meet some of her new coworkers, so, admittedly, I coerced Carol into going tonight.

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posted at 09:18 PM | Link | Baseball § |

Sunday, July 24, 2005

White Sox 6 - Red Sox 4

Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

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posted at 10:32 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, July 23, 2005

White Sox 0 - Red Sox 3

Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

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posted at 10:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Monday, July 18, 2005

Magic Number

61

I don't get it. The Chicago Tribune is posting the Magic Number for the Chicago White Sox. It's just days after the All-Star Game. This is Chicago. Nobody goes out on a limb like this when it comes to sports teams in town.

But here we are - the Sox still have the best record in all of baseball, again the first team to 60 wins. As of this morning, they're 12 games ahead of the 2nd place team (Twins). I'm not expecting to retain the "best record in baseball" title much longer - the St. Louis Cardinals are just 2 games behind in the win column and they have been stronger than the Sox.

And now the media have started noticing the local team that's actually in First Place and I'm getting that "jinxed" feeling, when you don't say certain things even when they're right in front of you, so you don't jinx the situation and have it change.

And there it is - Magic Number 61 - the number of White Sox wins and 2nd place team losses needed to win the division.

It's only July and they're calculating and publishing a Magic Number.

Scary.

posted at 05:22 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

ASG

After actually attending the All-Star Game in my own hometown, watching the game on TV SUCKS. There are a lot of ceremonies that aren't televised. Hell, they don't even broadcast the Canadian National Anthem anymore! And who threw out the ceremonial first pitch? Don't know - wasn't broadcast. Too many friggin' commercials to run so you don't see anything. Then, when the game is on, there's not enough attention paid to the game. Example - when Kenny Rogers ended his stint on the mound, they interviewed him in the dugout - and never mentioned who the hell was at the plate. Here's a guy, maybe his first time to the All Star Game, who is up to bat and strikes out and the TV crew never says a word on who the person was - it was all about Kenny Rogers, why he was at the game, what he thinks of the crowd reaction... They even screwed up some of the graphics - Early in the game, Fox showed a graphic of the "defensive alignment" of the American League starters. Everyone was there EXCEPT White Sox starting pitcher Mark Buehrle - who was replaced with Chris Carpenter, the starting pitcher for the National League. The audio sucked all night. The little "lipstick" cameras mounted in the ground are cool and give you a different perspective on the game, but they were really dark and almost useless.

I'm jaded. I just didn't enjoy the coverage, In fact - I turned it off more than halfway through the game. I didn't care that I hadn't yet seen 3 of the 4 White Sox players that were there.

(Boxscore)

posted at 10:29 PM | Link | Baseball § |

Sunday, July 10, 2005

White Sox 8 - Athletics 9 (11 innings)

Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics

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posted at 10:39 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, July 09, 2005

White Sox 1 - Athletics 10

Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics

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posted at 10:06 PM | Link | White Sox | 2 comments § |

Sunday, June 26, 2005

White Sox 0 - Cubs 2

Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

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posted at 07:15 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, June 25, 2005

White Sox 2 - Cubs 6

Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

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posted at 07:12 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, June 24, 2005

Hedging

Let me go on the record here, before anything gets started this weekend.

It has nothing to do with NextFest at Navy Pier, or the wonderful gastronomical Taste Of Chicago that kicks off today.

No, it has to do with baseball, interleague play, and the damn Cubs-Sox series.

I hate this event. Just hate it. I just can't stand the people that show up at the park, get plastered, and start shouting asinine comments at people and just looking for a damn fight. It's both sides of the aisle, both sides are guilty. I just hate the environment. Makes it quite difficult to try and enjoy the game.

We're in the middle of a pretty damn intense heat wave. Temps today are supposed to be around 96, with a Heat Index of 105.

Things happen in an environment like that.

Now, that being said, I don't have a good feeling about the outcome of these games either.

The Sox start the series 9 1/2 games in First Place in the AL Central, with a record of 49-22, the best in all of baseball.

Means nothing in this series. It's all about the outcome of these three games. And even though we lead the series 2-1 so far, I'm not sure we''ll come out winning this series. There's something in the back of my head that feels we can't do it right now. We've won the last 7 games - can we continue it? It seems like a longshot to come out on top for the weekend.

I don't know, it's just a feeling.

That's it. Go about your business.

UPDATE: Score of today's game: Sox 12 - Cubs 2

posted at 08:52 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, June 19, 2005

White Sox 4 - Dodgers 3

Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Dodgers

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posted at 11:34 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, June 18, 2005

White Sox 5 - Dodgers 3

Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Dodgers

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posted at 10:16 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

Monday, June 13, 2005

Well, THAT'S over...

Chicago Wolves
We would have been going to Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals tonight.

Would have.

The Philadelphia Phantoms swept the Wolves, 4-games-to-0 last Friday, in front of 20,103 fans, the largest crowd in American Hockey League playoff history. Chicago (12-6) was swept for just the third time in its 11-year postseason history. The Wolves, who lost by more than one goal for the first time this postseason, managed just four goals in the four games, the fewest in a four-game playoff series in franchise history.

Sad, very sad. I mean, the Wolves had to be made of something to claw their way to the top of the West Conference, only to be handily swept in the finals. They were significantly outplayed. It was like there was a totally different team out there for the finals.

So, on the plus side, the Wolves have been in the playoffs every single year of their 11 year existence. They've been to the finals in 5 of those 11 (.450!) and have won 3 of them. That, my friends, is not a shabby performance for the franchise.

It was just shabby this series.

*sigh*

posted at 08:27 AM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, June 10, 2005

Cubs-Red Sox Spin

All I've been hearing in the local media is this damn Cubs homestand against the Red Sox, and how they haven't met since the fateful 1918 World Series (a nice summary is at The SportingNews). Well, I'm taking solace in the fact that, yes, they haven't met since then, but the Red Sox have never played in Wrigley Field. Huh? Why? How? Well, during the 1918 World Series, the Cubs management decided to play their home games some place that had more seating capacity - Comiskey Park!

Update: Cubs take the series 2-1, loosing the Sunday Night ESPN game 8-1.

posted at 08:41 AM | Link | Baseball § |

Sunday, June 05, 2005

White Sox 4 - Indians 6 (12 innings)

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

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posted at 06:25 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Wolves 1 - Phantoms 2 - (2OT)- CALDER CUP FINAL Game 2

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms

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posted at 10:38 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Wolves 0 - Phantoms 1 - CALDER CUP FINAL Game 1

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms

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posted at 10:27 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Monday, May 30, 2005

White Sox 5 - Angels 4

Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels

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posted at 07:32 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Wolves 4 - Moose 3 - Western Conference Final Game 1

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

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posted at 10:30 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Sunday, May 15, 2005

White Sox 2 - Orioles 6

Chicago White Sox Baltimore Orioles

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posted at 09:34 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, May 14, 2005

White Sox 6 - Orioles 9

Chicago White Sox Baltimore Orioles

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posted at 10:17 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, May 13, 2005

Wolves 4 - Mighty Ducks 1 - West Division Final Game 5

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

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posted at 10:59 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Saturday, May 07, 2005

Wolves 2 - Mighty Ducks 1 - West Division Final Game 2

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

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posted at 11:10 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Sox Yard Sale

The annual Yard Sale in the Patio Area at U.S. Cellular Field Going through a rack of player jerseys
Time for my annual commute to the White Sox Yard Sale (formerly Garage Sale) at U.S. Cellular Field. Again, this year it was held in the Patio area while Family Day was held out on the field itself, where the outfield was covered with families running around playing catch. How cool it is to watch these families - dads and sons and daughters just playing catch in the outfield of a major league ballpark. It really is special. Sort of a weird passing of the torch, inspiring the young ones to get involved in baseball.

Anyway, there weren't many racks of game-worn jerseys this year - I think there was only 3 or 4. The "deals" in jerseys would be the most recently traded or released players - this year, that would be Carlos Lee and Jose Valentin - both players had at least half a dozen jerseys on the rack that went quickly. This year, I picked up a jacket for Carol (a gray "Away-Style" version) and one for me (the standard black "Home-Style" version). at $75 each, they were a steal. I can't find any ID in Carol's jacket, but I found a "46" in mine - I guess that would be Neal Cotts.

Good turnout. I don't know why people buy player's hats. Just don't want to wear something that sweaty. And bats? Most of them were cracked, but some were still in good shape. Had some catchers gear, too. Actually the best deal is the Media Guides from all of the MLB teams for 25 cents each.

Odd things? Bricks from old Comiskey, Parking Lot signs, and very worn On-Deck circles (pads).

posted at 11:13 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Wolves 5 - Mighty Ducks 2 - West Division Final Game 1

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

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posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Sunday, May 01, 2005

White Sox 8 - Tigers 0

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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posted at 05:35 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

Saturday, April 30, 2005

White Sox 4 - Tigers 3

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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posted at 10:33 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

That's more like I'm used to...

A strong start, a blown lead, 2 hit batsmen, a battle back, let them in a bit, somebody that played shortstop who never played there in their career, and a loss, with 14 hits 3 errors.

Yeah, that's more like it...

posted at 06:55 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

First time in how long?

The White Sox are scaring me. Still on the best start ever - 16-4, 8 straight wins, they're 10-2 on the road, and they're on the West Coast which - historically - has killed us (Oakland won seven of nine against the White Sox last season). And last night was against Barry Zito and we still get a win. Not only that, our catcher (Chris Widger) - who played last season with the Camden Riversharks in the independent Atlantic League before he showed-up at spring training as a non-roster invitee - gets his first homerun in the majors since April 9, 2000!!! (A.J. Pierzynski was able to get the ball from the fan to give to Widger.)

posted at 07:06 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Best start ever?

This is getting pretty dam scary... The White Sox improved to 14-4, the best 18-game start to a season in their 104-year franchise history. Almost all of these games are against AL Central rivals.

I'm just happy having them win each series they're in.

posted at 08:03 AM | Link | White Sox § |

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Wolves 1 - Aeros 2 (Overtime) - West Division Semifinal Game 2

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

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posted at 10:14 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Wolves 4 - Aeros 1 - West Division Semifinal Game 1

2005 Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

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posted at 10:30 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Sunday, April 17, 2005

White Sox 4 - Mariners 5

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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posted at 05:55 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Wolves 5 - Grizzlies 1 - Final Game of the Regular Season

Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies

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posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves § |
White Sox 2 - Mariners 1

Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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posted at 05:53 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Monday, April 04, 2005

OPENING DAY - White Sox 1 - Indians 0

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians
YES!!!! It's Opening Day!!!! All is right with the world!!!

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posted at 09:08 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Wolves 3 - Griffins 4

Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

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posted at 10:42 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Wolves 3 - Roadrunners 2 (Shootout)

Chicago Wolves Edmonton Roadrunners

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posted at 10:40 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Monday, March 14, 2005

Getting closer...

Watched baseball over the weekend. Watched baseball. Comcast is broadcasting 20 pre-season games! No one's done that around here before... and it just gets you cranked-up for next month when the season actually starts... Oh, and the Sox beat the Cubs this afternoon, and things feel better than I thought...

posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Wolves 1 - Moose 0

Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

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posted at 10:53 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

11 days until Spring...

... and not only that, my life had started again during my "blogging hiatus". Yes, baseball spring training had started last week. I have a small radio that I take to the hockey and baseball games that I keep in my backpack, so I'm lucky to hear a game being broadcast over ESPN 1000 (even though the interference from all of the damn electronics around here - depending on where you sit/stand - isn't all that bad). What's even better, though I haven't seen one yet, is that Comcast Sports is actually broadcasting 20 pre-season games. I can't wait to sit down and watch.

And you know what came in the mail yesterday? Yes! Our Season Tickets. We were shocked to find out that our seats moved! Our ticket rep moved us up 2 rows from 16 to 14, and we're still in seats 1 & 2. Up side: closer to the field. Down side: we've moved away from Victor! Damn!

We got our Stadium Club passes a week ago - we are splitting the cost this year with our pals Janie & Gary. We'll finally have a place to go (again) when the weather turns crappy at the beginning of the season.

It's too bad that I'm not feeling all that good about the team this year, and so far this spring isn't helping matters.

posted at 12:18 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Ahhhhhh... it's begining...

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TODAY!!!!!!!

Yes!!!! Baseball has cranked-up and my life somehow feels more complete just knowing that I can watch preseason baseball on TV in just 19 days...

Now, if Jose Canseco could just take his book and disappear...

...sort of like the NHL - which officially canceled the entire season today.

posted at 06:25 AM | Link | Baseball § |

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Wolves 4 - Aeros 5 (Shootout)

Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

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posted at 11:44 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, February 11, 2005

Wolves 5 - Admirals 4 (Shootout)

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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posted at 11:43 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, February 04, 2005

Wolves - Barons

Chicago Wolves Cleveland Barons

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posted at 10:51 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Sunday, January 30, 2005

New Ice

Two half-rink games being played on Rink 1 Open Skate on Rink 2 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony The Wolves Locker Room
The Hoffman Estates Park District Community Center Ice Arenas had their official ribbon cutting ceremony today. Carol and I went over there to check it out. It was important to us because: 1) it's literally just blocks away from our house (but it's not THAT close to walk it), and 2) it is the official practice facility for the Chicago Wolves!

The facility actually opened-up in November, but the Wolves offices, training areas and locker room weren't ready yet.

The place is gorgeous with two full-size rinks. It was packed - there was a time when both rinks were open to open skate and they ran out of rental skates. There were Wolves players available for autographs and out on the ice skating with the guests. The concession stand was in full swing.

I was able to see the actual ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Park District people, the mayor, and the Wolves executives.

posted at 05:14 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Wolves 3 - Hamilton 6

Chicago Wolves Hamilton Bulldogs

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posted at 10:43 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Monday, January 17, 2005

No party

Tonight is the Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party at Gameworks in Schaumburg. In fact, it's in a few minutes.

Not motivated enough to go - last year was too crowded, didn't get any food until the end of the evening, really difficult to see the players.

Too fatigued. Gonna stay home.

posted at 06:23 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Wolves 4 - Maple Leafs 1

Chicago Wolves St. John’s Maple Leafs

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posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Green

The new seats being installed at U.S. Cellular Field
I've got an early Christmas present! It's something I've wanted for years. I thought I would never get it, because it costs an awful lot of money and the person in charge doesn't like to spend the money.

I've always wanted a green Comiskey Park. Since it opened in 1991, I've HATED those damn blue seats. It's just another thing that made the place... uninviting for baseball. Now, slowly, over the past couple of years I've seen it - the slow change. When the scoreboard was rebuilt, the facing was changed from blue to green. Some signage around the park changed from blue to green. The padding on the walls around the field changed from blue to green.

And now, they've started replacing over 40,000 seats! YESSSS!!!!! No more swimming pool blue - we'll be sitting on forest green seats, like a real ball park of old.

Unfortunately, they're being phased-in, with the lower deck (where we sit) being last.

But at least it's being done!

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posted at 09:45 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Wolves 2 - Admirals 3

Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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posted at 10:08 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, November 19, 2004

Mêlée in Detroit

Holy crap - I don't think I've ever seen something get out of hand this badly. There'to be arrests after all of this. I have never seen something this scary at a sporting event in my life. I have no idea how somebody didn't get themselves seriously injured in all of this - and considering that 1) it was an NBA game and 2) it was in Detroit, I'm surprised somebody didn't smuggle in a weapon and killed somebody.

What am I talking about?

Pacers 97, Pistons 82, 45.9 seconds left in the game.

It all started when Detroit's Ben Wallace went in for a layup and was fouled hard by Artest from behind.

Wallace wheeled around and pushed Artest in the face. The benches emptied and punches were thrown.

As the players continued shoving each other near center court and coaches tried to restore order, Artest sprawled out on his back on the scorer's table, looking relaxed.

Just when it appeared tempers had died down, Artest was struck by a full cup thrown from the stands. He jumped up, and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Fans were punching back, and Jackson and another teammate joined Artest in the mêlée.
As the crowd roared, drinks and debris showered the court and the Pacers players covered their heads as they hustled through the runway leading to the locker room.

A man in a Pistons jersey approached Artest on the court with fists raised, shouting at him. Artest punched him in the face, knocking the man to the floor before leaving the court. Artest was pulled away, and the fan charged back. O'Neal stepped in and punched the man.

And this was much worse than the description.

I haven't followed the NBA in years. I've felt that the NBA is just turning into a bunch of thugs.

I'm not buying any "self defense" pleas here - it just reinforced my feelings.

A bunch of thugs.

Update: NBA Commissioner David Stern announced suspensions:

  • Pacers forward Ron Artest has been suspended for the remainder of the season.

  • Indiana guard Stephen Jackson has been suspended for 30 games.

  • Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal has been suspended for 25 games.

  • Indiana guard Anthony Johnson has been suspended for five games.

  • Detroit forward/center Ben Wallace has been suspended for six games.

  • Pistons forwards Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman and guard Chauncey Billups have each been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an on-court altercation.

  • Indiana guard Reggie Miller has been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an on-court altercation.
  • posted at 10:22 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Sunday, November 14, 2004

    Defense

    How long can the Bears keep winning when the only points being scored are from the defense???

    posted at 03:53 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Saturday, October 30, 2004

    Wolves 1 - Mighty Ducks 4

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

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    posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, October 27, 2004

    I think it's safe to say The Curse is broken

    Boston Red Sox
    Congrats to the Boston Red Sox for sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series!

    I think it's safe to say that you have broken the Curse of the Bambino!

    Did I just see Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch on the field after the game?

    posted at 10:56 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Saturday, October 23, 2004

    Wolves 3 - Admirals 2 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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    posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, October 20, 2004

    YES!

    Boston Red Sox
    Congratulations, BOSTON! You made me watch your games because of the way you played and it was an honor to watch! You did something no one in Baseball (and it turns out - no one in Basketball, either) to come back 0-3 to win 4-3. A tip of the hat to you!

    posted at 11:18 PM | Link | Baseball § |
    Wolves 5 - Aeros 4 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

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    posted at 10:11 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Tuesday, October 19, 2004

    Now, THAT's baseball!

    Boston Red Sox New York Yankees
    My baseball season may be over, but man are these great games to watch! OK, yes, they're epic, but, damn, the play and the twists and turns just suck me in to watch, which I haven't done in years!

    posted at 11:06 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Saturday, October 16, 2004

    Wolves 1 - Griffins 5

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

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    posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, October 14, 2004

    No hockey? What about simulated hockey?

    So G4TECHTV (that crappy Comcast-owned network that took my beloved TechTV a stripped it clean of it's gadgetry and tech coolness) is simulating the entire NHL season and broadcasting the results in a 3-minute highlight show nightly.

    I don't know how I feel about this.

    posted at 10:11 PM | Link | Hockey § |

    Wednesday, October 13, 2004

    Opening night?

    It's Opening Night in the NHL tonight. Or it was supposed to be. No Opening Night. Then again, there hasn't been any training camps or any exhibition games either. The owners have locked-out the players in a labor dispute.

    The NHLPA made its first proposal in 15 months to NHL negotiators Sept. 9 in Toronto. it was immediately rejected and there hasn't been any movement since, and there's been rumors of the entire NHL season being lost.

    All I know is that it probably means more people going to the Wolves games that we have to deal with. Our opening night is this Saturday!

    posted at 08:39 PM | Link | Hockey § |

    Thursday, October 07, 2004

    Wolves 2 - Griffins 1 - Preseason

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

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    posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, October 03, 2004

    Season Over

    Well, the baseball season is officially over for me. I mention this every year because this is the official time when I slip into a funk until pitchers and catchers report to camp next year. My team - the Chicago White Sox - finished 83-79, 2nd in their division 9 games behind the Twins and out of the Wild Card race by 15 games. To be blunt, they had been out for at least a month and realistically even longer than that. We had the first half of the season and just crumbled in the second half. Everyone did - offense, pitching, even defense. But still, it was a good year.

    Baseball is life and mine is in suspension until next year.

    *sigh*

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 03:44 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, September 26, 2004

    White Sox 5 - Royals 1 - Final Home Game

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

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    posted at 05:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 25, 2004

    White Sox 5 - Royals 1

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

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    posted at 09:47 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, September 19, 2004

    White Sox 6 - Tigers 1

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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    posted at 10:20 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 18, 2004

    White Sox 9 - Tigers 8 - 12 innings

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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    posted at 11:28 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Tuesday, September 14, 2004

    Marlins 8 - Expos 6

    Florida Marlins Montreal Expos

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    posted at 05:33 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Monday, September 13, 2004

    Marlins 6 - Expos 3

    Florida Marlins Montreal Expos

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    posted at 06:35 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, September 12, 2004

    Not ready

    Chicago BearsDetroit Lions
    Sorry folks, It's baseball season. I don't care if my team is 9 games out and not in the Wild Card.

    It's baseball season - even though football started today. I can't wrap my head around having a new coach and a team that almost doesn't look familiar.

    posted at 01:02 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Sunday, September 05, 2004

    White Sox 6 - Mariners 2

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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    posted at 10:13 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 04, 2004

    White Sox 8 - Mariners 7

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, September 03, 2004

    Japanese advertising

    Shingo Takatsu pitches to Ichiro Suzuki in the 9th
    I'm watching the white Sox-Seattle game on Fox Sports Net from U.S. Cellular Field and I just noticed that the rolling advertizing sign behind the plate has Japanese advertising in it!

    I'd like to think it's because of Shingo Takatsu, but I'm sure it's because of Ichiro Suzuki. Or perhaps, both.

    I've NEVER seen that before in the park.

    On a side note, I read today that there a rumor that the Cubs will apply to the Historical Commission to be able to put a rolling advertizing sign on the brick behind the plate at Wrigley Field. Ha! Join the ranks of ugly advertising inside the park, dear Cub fans...

    posted at 09:46 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, August 30, 2004

    How'd he do that?

    I didn't watch the ballgame this afternoon. The Sox were playing Philadelphia in a makeup game. I'm just having trouble getting behind the team right now, as everything and everybody has been sliding downhill. One of these guys is Joe Borchard. We've been hearing about this guy for years and years that he's the future for the outfield - in 2001 he was named by Baseball America as the No. 1 Prospect in the White Sox organization, No. 2 Outfielder in the minor leagues. He played 16 games in 2002 and 16 in 2003, and 34 this year. His batting average was .222 in 2002, .184 in 2003 and is .163 for this year (.139 over the last 10 games). In 30 games in the outfield this year, he's made 2 errors and has a fielding percentage of .957 (worse than Jose Valentin, another one of our defensive geniuses). It's easy to see why I'm questioning why the hell we have somebody like this in the lineup.

    In the 2nd in today's game, with a man on base and one out, he does something that has been pissing me off just like so many others on this team - he swings on the first pitch.

    This time, though, he hits a HUGE 504 foot homerun to right-center that easily cleared the bleachers and landed halfway up the concourse. It's the longest ever at U.S. Cellular Field. Ever. (Before that was 495' from Frank Thomas July 23, 2003 against Minnesota off of Johan Santana. Barry Bonds had one at 475' on June 10, 2003 off of Jon Garland)

    Oh, what did he do the other 3 at-bats? Struck out each time.

    posted at 05:01 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, August 26, 2004

    White Sox Scout Seats?

    Artist rendering of the new Scout Seating area at U.S. Cellular Field
    I just got an email from my White Sox ticket rep.

    They're building a new seating area behind the plate with all kinds of new amenities.

    If you want the front row, the cost of the seat is $200. Otherwise, it's $170.

    After a season like this one where I felt the team just folded and collapsed, I guess all I can say is "Good luck to you selling those seats!"

    What do you get for that price?

  • Premium reserved parking outside of Gate 3
  • Premium buffet in the 5,000+ square foot private restaurant/lounge with all beverages included
    Private access to seat location
  • Wait service at the seats for food and beverages
  • Comfortable, wide seats
  • Self-service island featuring popcorn, ice cream, peanuts, soda, water, etc.
  • One of the best seats in the house, some of which are closer to home plate than the pitcher!

  • read more of this entry »


    posted at 05:02 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

    Sunday, August 22, 2004

    White Sox 5 - Red Sox 6

    Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, August 21, 2004

    White Sox 7 - Red Sox 10

    Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 08:05 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, August 20, 2004

    White Sox 1 - Red Sox 10 - ELVIS NIGHT!

    Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:23 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, August 08, 2004

    White Sox 3 - Indians 2

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:04 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, August 07, 2004

    White Sox 5 - Indians 6

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:03 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, July 31, 2004

    Baseball despair

    One week ago, I was at a ballgame for my favorite team - The Chicago White Sox. Everything was right with the world.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:59 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, July 25, 2004

    White Sox 2 - Tigers 9

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:32 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, July 24, 2004

    White Sox 7 - Tigers 6

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:23 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, July 12, 2004

    Disco Demolition

    Exactly 25 years ago right now, The Chicago White Sox had to forfeit a game at old Comiskey Park

    Local WLUP "shock jock" Steve Dahl along with partner Garry Meier had a promotion at old Comiskey Park: Show up for a Double Header with the Detroit Tigers and bring a Disco record and get in for $1. The record would be put into a pile and blown up in between games to signify the end of disco.

    All hell broke lose after the event - fans rushed the field, tore up turf, even set fires in the upper deck.

    Detroit manager Sparky Anderson protested field conditions and game was called-off and later forfeited by

    WTTW is broadcasting a one-hour special commemorating the event right now. I guess you can get a DVD of the show by going here.

    posted at 08:21 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, July 11, 2004

    White Sox 4 - Mariners 3

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:38 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, July 10, 2004

    White Sox 3 - Mariners 2

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:27 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

    Sunday, June 27, 2004

    White Sox 9 - Cubs 4

    Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:09 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 26, 2004

    White Sox 6 - Cubs 3

    Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 06:16 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 19, 2004

    Sox Yard Sale

    Working one of the racks of game-worn jerseys at the White Sox Yard Sale Just a VW on the Dan Ryan
    Went to the White Sox Yard Sale at the park. Normally it's usually around the 2nd week of March, but because of the extensive construction around the park, they postponed it until today. And instead of being a Garage Sale, it was billed as a Yard Sale held in the Patio area. It seemed like the number of jerseys available has finally gone down after a couple of years, so it was getting hard to find a "good" one, though they were there for a price. The regular jerseys were about $150, but the "good" ones are at least $350. It didn't matter - I didn't have any "good" money with me, even to purchase a cheapo jersey. I was there to pick up any All-Star Game tchochkies that was still still left over. i was able to get an All-Star Media Guide which I wanted - for 25 cents. Spent a few more bucks on some All-Star Bobble Heads (miniatures of the ones that were deployed around Chicago to celebrate the All-Star game last year).

    The odd items this year? Parking lot and stadium signage, seat parts, players luggage (huge, hard-sided Samsonite), bricks (from where?), and scoreboard modulator pieces (no idea which scoreboard).

    While this was going on, there was Family Day in the Park in the outfield, where families can go (for a price - $20/adult $10/child) to play catch in the outfield for an hour. We've done this every year as part of season ticketholder parties, but it's never been done with the public. The place was packed. But there was something I had never seen before - it wasn't fathers bringing their young kids to play catch. The people that stood out were the 20- and 30-somethings that brought their fathers to play catch. An early Father's Day present that could really be something precious to have.

    posted at 11:35 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, June 13, 2004

    White Sox 10 - Braves 3

    Chicago White Sox Atlanta Braves

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    posted at 05:23 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 12, 2004

    White Sox 10 - Braves 8

    Chicago White Sox Atlanta Braves

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:11 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, June 02, 2004

    New FUNdamentals at USCF

    The proposed new FUNdamentals area on the left field concourse at U.S. Cellular Field
    I was going to comment on this last week, but never got around to it...

    The White Sox have this great area for kids called FUNdamentals, with batting cages, pitching cages and base running areas, all staffed by White Sox instructors. A lot of people may not even know it exists - it's by gate 3, so if you don't go in that gate, you may never see it.

    The Sox announced that as part of the proposed rehabs of TPFKAC™ (U.S. Cellular Field) for next year, they are going to rebuild FUNdamentals and put it over the left field concourse.

    It looks like a great location (it also looks like you just might be able to watch the game from up there) and will definitely give the area more exposure and better access.

    posted at 10:48 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, May 30, 2004

    White Sox 11 - Angels 2

    Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels

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    posted at 09:21 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, May 29, 2004

    White Sox 1 - Angels 5

    Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels
    DOG DAY!

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:28 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, May 16, 2004

    White Sox 11 - Twins 0

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 06:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, May 15, 2004

    White Sox 1 - Twins 4

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:02 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, May 14, 2004

    Wolves 3 - Admirals 4 - West Division Final Game 6 (2 OT)

    2004 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:58 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, May 13, 2004

    White Sox 0 - Orioles 1 - Game 1 - White Sox 6 - Orioles 5 - Game 2

    Chicago White Sox Baltimore Orioles
    Oh crap... do we feel STUPID...

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:58 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, May 10, 2004

    Wolves 2 - Admirals 5 - West Division Final Game 4

    2004 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:34 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, May 02, 2004

    White Sox 3 - Blue Jays 2

    Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

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    posted at 08:29 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, May 01, 2004

    White Sox 4 - Blue Jays 3 (Game 1) - White Sox 6 - Blue Jays 10 (Game 2)

    Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

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    posted at 10:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |
    Doubleheader???

    Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays
    Oh, great. The Sox got rained-out last night. Since Toronto is in the East, we only play them once a year, so they have to make-up yesterday's game today.

    So like I said earlier in the week, the weather is going to suck. Let's see... what is it outside now? 46 degrees. Wind is about 10mph. Wind chill = 41. Oh, and that infamous cooler near the lake. It was going to be crappy sitting out in this to watch a night game, what the hell is this going to be like for two freakin' games???

    We may have to discuss this...

    posted at 10:05 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, April 25, 2004

    White Sox 6 - Devil Rays 5

    Chicago White Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 05:54 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 24, 2004

    White Sox 1 - Devil Rays 4

    Chicago White Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:47 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, April 23, 2004

    Wolves 8 - Griffins 2 - West Division Semifinal Game 4

    2004 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    SWEEEEEP!!!!

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:38 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, April 21, 2004

    Wolves 4 - Griffins 1 - West Division Semifinal Game 3

    2004 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:10 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Tuesday, April 13, 2004

    Home Opener - White Sox 12 - Royals 5

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 08:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 10, 2004

    Wolves 1 - Admirals 3

    Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

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    posted at 10:28 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    Two in a row...

    Two in a row...
    Sorry... not much going on in my life, so watching baseball is key.

    Two wins in a row against the Yankees.

    I like it.

    Sorry, Erin.

    posted at 02:58 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

    Friday, April 09, 2004

    That's better...

    This one felt good...
    So the Sox and Cubs start the day even - both with 1-2 records and in 4th place in each of our divisions (OK, tied for 3rd actually). I feel good about that. <snicker>

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 06:20 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, April 07, 2004

    Wolves 4 - Rampage 3

    Chicago Wolves San Antonio Rampage

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, April 05, 2004

    Oh, so this is how it's going to be...

    What a way to start the season...
    How the hell can this happen?

    The White Sox are in Kansas City and lead them 7-3 going into the bottom of the 9th.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:55 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 03, 2004

    Wolves 2 - Griffins 1

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:08 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, March 25, 2004

    Ducats

    Our White Sox Season Ticket stuff
    Well, after a very long day at work and a long drive home, I find that we've received one of my most favorite packages of the year...

    Our White Sox Season Tickets! Same old box, no new information, same seats, nothing I'm really looking forward to this season... just another season of baseball and hope...

    posted at 07:05 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, March 24, 2004

    The Cell's not done

    Saw on the Channel 7 News tonight that it looks like the upper deck renovations at The Cell seem to be way behind schedule for the home opener on April 13th. Take a peek at the story.

    posted at 04:53 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, March 20, 2004

    Wolves 2 - Grizzlies 5

    Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:29 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, March 17, 2004

    Wolves 5 - Mighty Ducks 1

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, March 14, 2004

    You can put it on your TV.... YES!!!!

    You can put it on your TV.... YES!!!! The White Sox on WGN
    Yes! Chicago White Sox Spring Training on WGN!!!

    Yes!!! My life's clock is ticking!!!! Yes!!!

    (I'm ignoring the fact the the Sox were on yesterday, because they played the Cubs in Mesa, so the telecast was a Cubs telecast and I hate Chip Carey so much, that it was impossible to watch...)

    posted at 02:09 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, March 13, 2004

    Wolves 4 - Barons 2

    Chicago Wolves Cleveland Barons

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:18 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, March 06, 2004

    Wolves 3 - Hamilton 5

    Chicago Wolves Hamilton Bulldogs

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:37 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, February 21, 2004

    Wolves 6 - Aeros 3

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

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    posted at 10:30 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Friday, February 20, 2004

    ...<silence>... *tick* *tick* *tick*

    That's the sound of my life's clock ticking again.

    Pitchers and catchers have reported!!!! Woooo Hoooo!!!!!!

    posted at 07:53 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Monday, February 16, 2004

    The "new lid" at "The Cell"

    The new upper-deck roof is being added at U.S. Cellular Field
    Since I was on the South Side today, I swung by Comiskey (sorry, I will probably always call it Comiskey) to see how the upper deck rennovations were going. The place is a ness. 35th Street is down to two lanes to accomodate the cranes. It's not done and they still have a ways to go. I'm not sure if I like it, but at least it's something to try to fix the park.

    posted at 06:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Tuesday, January 20, 2004

    Party?

    Tonight was the annual Chicago Wolves Season Ticketholder Party, but instead of holding it at the Allstate Arena like the usually do, it was held at Gameworks in Schaumburg (we were happy - Gameworks is much closer to home!). The problem with Gameworks, though, is that it's a much smaller venue. Every machine and game in the house was busy (it was all free while we were there), but it was hard to maneuver around - the lines for the buffet upstairs were huge, not to mention the lines for player autographs were much worse and much slower). We found out there was a second buffet in - of all places - the restaurant and hardly anybody was in there. It was an OK time, but it was quite a bit different and I'm not sure if it was "better" or not. I could tell by our friends John and Carol that it might not appeal to the "older demographic" - crowded, noisy, multiple floors...

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:19 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Saturday, January 17, 2004

    Wolves 5 - Moose 1

    Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:09 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, January 14, 2004

    Wolves 3 - Maple Leafs 3 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves St. John’s Maple Leafs

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, January 10, 2004

    Wolves 3 - Mighty Ducks 5

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Friday, January 02, 2004

    SI quotes

    Reading the Sports Illustrated Year In Sports issue and found a quote that put me on the floor...

    WASN'T THAT A LINE FROM THE KAZ TADANO FILM?
    After people wearing hot dog costumes collided during a footrace at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Brewers manager Ned Yost said, "I just looked over and saw our wieners in a wad."

    posted at 11:31 AM | Link | Mundane § |

    Saturday, December 27, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Grizzlies 0

    Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:37 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, December 07, 2003

    Makin' 'em mad...

    Sign shown during the Packers-Bears game
    Saw this great sign during the Bears-Packers game...

    Update: Bears lose 34-21. We suck.

    posted at 01:12 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Saturday, November 29, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Maple Leafs 1

    Chicago Wolves St. John’s Maple Leafs

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:23 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, November 03, 2003

    Familiar face

    Chicago White Sox
    Well, the Sox made a decision - one that a few people find surprising - former shortstop Ozzie Guillen was named Manager of the White Sox. A few things I remember about watching him play - he has heart, intensity, he never wanted to walk (I always saw him go after pitches - and make contact - that were all over the place), and had this odd little "goofball" side of him, always working hard but having fun in the process. The downside? No management experience - though he was Third Base Coach for the Champion Florida Marlins this year. I hope this works out...

    posted at 06:19 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, November 02, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Crunch 4

    Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 07:02 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, November 01, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Griffins 3

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, October 25, 2003

    My clock has stopped

    Well, the Florida Marlins won the World Series over the Yankees. Good for them! I have one complaint, though. At least, I think it's a complaint. We listened to the postgame on ESPN radio on the way home from the hockey game. All I could hear in the background is the sound of New York New York by Frank Sinatra, being played over and over and over... Now, somehow it feels wrong to me to hear this. I associate this song with the Yankees. It's like they're drilling this into anybody within earshot to say, "Hey, screw you, this is New York", trying to either 1) soothe the absolutely shocked fans who just couldn't believe that their damn team lost or 2) put down Florida saying, in a way, to hell with you - it should be the Yankees who won. The flip side to this is a specific line of the song - "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere" which, actually, is a tip of the hat to the Marlins. I'm just so conflicted right now...

    But, now it's over. My clock has stopped - that invisible clock that quietly ticks inside of me to the beat of the baseball season has gone silent, and won't be heard again for months. This is an extremely melancholy time for me. Baseball is life for me. It's weird. I can't explain it and I don't think I ever could. My body follows no other clock. No other sport has this effect on me. Not even the passing of the seasons have this kind of effect.

    My clock waits silently for the first pitchers and catchers to return to their spring training facilities months from now.

    posted at 11:31 PM | Link | Baseball § |
    Wolves 3 - Roadrunners 1

    Chicago Wolves Toronto Roadrunners

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    posted at 11:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, October 15, 2003

    Cubs Lose! Cubs Lose!

    Yes, you won the division this year, but it's been 58 years since winning the NL pennant and 95 years since winning the World Series The Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 "L" is for "Loss" as the blue flag flies from the center field scoreboard
    Congratulations on winning your division. Sorry you didn't go any further.

    To their fans: It's the Cubs. There's always next year.

    Heh.

    Heh heh heh.

    Oops. Sorry.

    posted at 10:34 PM | Link | Cubs § |
    Priceless

    Priceless
    Sorry. This showed-up in my morning emails. I know I'll regret putting it up, but after last night, what's a disgruntled White Sox fan to do...

    Now, everyone out there, leave poor Steve Bartman alone. He "did not even see Moises Alou".

    posted at 08:22 AM | Link | Mundane § |

    Tuesday, October 14, 2003

    Chicago Wolves in Hoffman Estates?

    Work starts tomorrow on a new practice facility for the Chicago Wolves. Where? About 6-7 blocks from my house! Hoffman Estates approved it last night night - dual NHL-sized ice-skating rinks in a 90,000-square-foot addition to the 35,000-square-foot Blackhawk Community Center. Going to be very cool next September/October when we can walk to a pre-season game!

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:08 AM | Link | Wolves § |
    The Cell gets a trim

    Chicago Tribune photo - October 14, 2003
    Carol left part of the Metro section of the Chicago Tribune on my Aeron chair by the computer this morning. There it was - a picture of seats being ripped out of the upper deck at "The Cell" a.k.a. U.S. Cellular Field, "The Joan", and my TPFKAC™. It said that they were pulling the seats "in preparation for decreasing the upper deck's size for the '04 White Sox season." Well, it's a start - I'd rather see them just take the whole frickin' upper deck off (which, structurally, looks like they could do it) and just rebuild the thing with a better pitch and maybe a new "roof". The only issue may be trying to cover the concession areas below the seating.

    Hell, I was just happy to see something that said "White Sox" in the paper after all this damn Cub Fever crap gong on in town...

    Bitter? Hell, yes...

    posted at 10:20 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, October 12, 2003

    Killer Marathon

    Holy crap... A 29-year-old female runner, Rachael Townsend, 29, of The Plains, Ohio, collapsed and died about 100 feet after she crossed the finish line of the 26th annual LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon today.

    It's not the first time this had happened - in 2001 Luke Roach, 22, of Seattle, died after collapsing near the finish line - his temperature soared to 107 degrees while he was running and he died of heat stroke. In 2000, Danny Towns, 45, of Edmond, Okla., collapsed and later died of coronary arteriosclerosis, a hardening of the heart arteries. In 1998, Kelly Barrett, 43, of Littleton, Colo., died three days after a cardiac arrest in the marathon medical tent. Her death was attributed to low sodium levels, apparently from drinking too much water while running.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 05:41 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Saturday, October 11, 2003

    Wolves 2 - Griffins 3 - Overtime

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, October 06, 2003

    Dan Snyder

    Atlanta Thrashers Chicago Wolves
    Dan Snyder playing air hockey Garnet Exelby and Dan Snyder
    Damn.

    At about 10:30pm last Monday, Atlanta Thrashers Left Wing Dany Heatley (NHL 2002 Rookie of the Year and MVP of the 2003 All-Star game) was driving his 2002 black Ferrari convertible at over 80mph in a 35mph zone on Lenox Road near Alton Place NE in the Buckhead area of Atlanta and lost control on a curve, swerved into the opposite lane, crossed the dividing line and left the pavement before crashing broadside into a brick pillar and iron fence. The impact of the crash broke the automobile in two.

    His passenger was Atlanta Thrasher Center and former Chicago Wolves player Dan Snyder (who was on the Wolves 2003 Calder Cup team). Snyder was ejected from the car and thrown 30 feet onto the road. He had suffered a significant depressed fracture toward the back of his head on the right side, and a classic "acceleration/deceleration injury". He was in a coma.

    Snyder died yesterday.

    Now, Dany Heatley (who had suffered a broken left jaw, a minor concussion, a contusion to his lung, a bruised kidney, complete tears of his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments and a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee and limited nerve injury to some of the muscles in his left shoulder), will be charged with vehicular homicide (it used to be just "serious injury by vehicle"), as well as reckless driving, driving too fast for conditions, driving on the wrong side of the road and striking a fixed object.

    The fans in Chicago will always remember Snyder for his heart and tenacity. What a way to go.

    posted at 08:59 AM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, September 29, 2003

    Jerry's gone

    Chicago White Sox
    Not surprised. Not surprised at all.

    White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams relieved manager Jerry Manuel of his duties today.

    My life clock has stopped. My baseball season has come to an end. My team is now without a manager and who knows who will still be part of the team when they report to Spring Training in less than 5 months.

    *sigh*

    posted at 02:10 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, September 21, 2003

    White Sox 4 - Royals 10

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 05:24 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 20, 2003

    White Sox 1 - Royals 7

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, September 11, 2003

    White Sox 2 - Twins 5

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins
    There is ONE thing in my life that makes me feel American - Baseball. If you know me, you know that baseball is truly intertwined in my life, and there's nothing more American - to me - than baseball. So, I drove to Riverside, picked up Janie & Gary and we went to a ball game.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, September 10, 2003

    Magic Number: 17

    Chicago White Sox
    OK, folks, look... you have no idea how exciting this is to Chicago baseball fans... New York - you've had your subway series. Big friggin' deal. It's not like the Yankees or Mets have been out of contention for decades, so screw you right now...

    The last time the White Sox and the Cubs have both been in First Place in September was...

    1906

    That's when the Sox beat the Cubs in the World Series. The third World Series.

    The last time the Cubs won the World series was 1908. Since then, both clubs have finished behind the league winners by under 10 games together only twice.

    Since 1940, both teams had winning records at the end of the season only five times.

    This is a big deal!

    So, here it is September 10.
    White Sox Magic Number: 17
    Cubs Magic Number: 19 (or, as the t-shirts say around "The Cell" - 911)

    posted at 08:43 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Tuesday, September 09, 2003

    Magic Number: 19

    Chicago White Sox
    I was reading the sports section of USA Today and saw something that I had forgotten about:

    Magic Number: 19

    Wow. It's actually there in print. Normally, the Magic Number is something we always chased, but there it was.

    It's September.

    We're in First Place.

    And we have a Magic Number...

    posted at 09:10 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, September 07, 2003

    White Sox 7 - Indians 3

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:29 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 06, 2003

    White Sox 8 - Indians 5

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:44 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, September 01, 2003

    September Baseball

    It's September. It's Chicago. Historically, this has been a bad month for baseball for us. The Cubs, even if they've shown hope and promise earlier in the season have usually faded by now, or are in the process of fading. The White Sox, if they haven't been contending in the first half of the season, are nowhere to be found, usually prompting fire sales or "white flag" trades.

    Welcome to 2003.

    As I write this, The Cubs are in third, 1½ games behind division-leading St. Louis and Houston. However, they're at home with only a .500 record at home, and are in the middle of a 5-game series playing St. Louis, so there could be some movement this week. In contention? Possibly.

    The White Sox, having the day off, are now in first by 2 games, ahead of both Minnesota & Kansas City. The Sox have 25 games in 27 days coming up, playing 7 against Kansas City and 7 against the Twins, not to mention 5 against the Red Sox and 3 against the Yankees. Hopefully their 43-23 home record will help. In contention? Possibly.

    This is rare, folks. If neither team makes it into the post-season, fans will be pissed but they'll eventually chalk it up to the state of baseball in Chicago.

    If one of the teams make it, there will be some very ungracious slamming of the other team, their management, and their fans.

    If both teams make it, all hell will break loose in this city and God help us all.

    I'm giddy....

    posted at 08:25 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, August 24, 2003

    White Sox 0 - Rangers 5

    Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:04 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, August 23, 2003

    White Sox 13 - Rangers 2

    Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:40 PM | Link | White Sox § |
    Playoff Invoice

    Guess what I got in the mail today from the Chicago White Sox?

    An invoice.

    For playoff tickets!

    Holy crap, I sort of didn't expect it. Since we're only Weekend Season Ticketholders, we don't get a full set of tickets. We get 3 AL Division Series games, 1 AL Championship Series game and 1 World Series game. World Series game! Oh, and parking, too.

    I'm giddy. Now, I'm a realist. I'm not expecting to actually get to the World Series. But... how cool is this!!!!

    Now all we have to do is scrounge around for the money.

    PLAYOFF TICKETS!!! I must remember to not count my chickens...

    posted at 03:08 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, August 22, 2003

    White Sox 7 - Rangers 1

    Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:45 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, August 17, 2003

    The Prince Of Darkness at Wrigley

    Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame
    Holy effin'™ cripes... Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne just "sang" The Seventh Inning Stretch at Wrigley Field...

    Oh. My. God.

    Update: If you must, here's an MP3 for you. (1.71 Mb). You have to hear "Lets go out out to the ballgame" and you have to listen closely to hear the lyric: "I don't remember what I have to do..."

    posted at 03:07 PM | Link | Odd § |

    Wednesday, August 13, 2003

    Flyers Baseball

    Carol has a company outing to see the Schaumburg Flyers tonight, se we went to socialize and watch some baseball. Before the game, the Flyers have tents set up for companies to use for their parties. We had some great Bar-B-Q pork with Famous Dave's sauce. Yummm.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:22 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, August 10, 2003

    White Sox 5 - Athletics 1

    Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics

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    posted at 04:54 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, August 09, 2003

    White Sox 2 - Athletics 7

    Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:04 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, August 07, 2003

    30 months of probation???

    The father of the shirtless father & son thug team the attacked Royals First Base coach Tom Gamboa last September was sentenced yesterday to 30 months of probation, community service, undergo addiction counseling, take part in parenting classes and remain under a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for the next 90 days.

    That's it.

    This guy pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery back in May. He and his son rush the field and start beating the crap out of Gamboa. Gamboa has a permanent hearing loss in his right ear from the attack. The guy's son was sentenced to five years' probation and 30 hours of community service but a judge has recommended he be sent to a prison boot camp following a probation violation.

    The went onto the field of play and blindsided the coach, and all they get is probation. This is just so wrong. This sends all the wrong signals to the obnoxious drunks in the stands who get up the liquid courage to go onto the field. The judge cited the behavior of baseball players encourages fan violence at ballparks. Huh? A first base coach incited this? Here's a quote from Judge Leo Holt, known around the Cook County Criminal Court building, as Judge "Let 'Em Go, Leo" Holt:

    "What fan has not seen a pitcher intentionally hurl a baseball at a player's head at 90 miles per hour? Who has not seen a batter leave home plate headed for the pitcher's mound, bat in hand, bent on mischief and mayhem? ... [Baseball] ranks alongside mom, apple pie, hot dogs and Chevrolet. It is America's summer pastime. It teaches teamwork, sportsmanship and a host of wholesome and desirable character traits, but baseball is not immune from the frailties of human conduct.''

    Now, as a side note, it's important to know that people have actually died because of how this judge has ruled in the past. He's had rulings overturned. In recent years he has complained that prosecutors systematically move high-profile murder cases away from his courtroom—because he has a reputation as being friendly to the defense.

    (I wonder if the court date was done to coincide with Kansas City being in town again? I can tell you that having them back in town just seems to bring out the weirdness in Sox fans... thank God they don't allow the people with upper-deck tickets to have access to the main level... 5 people were arrested on Monday because of fights in both the right-field and left-field corners of the upper deck)

    posted at 09:48 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Thursday, July 31, 2003

    Penalty Box Police baseball

    Tonight, Carol & I went to the Schaumburg Flyers game with a whole bunch of "Penalty Box Police" friends from the Chicago Wolves games. We did this last year and had a good time.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:45 PM | Link | Flyers § |

    Monday, July 28, 2003

    Let there be light

    Screen capture of an aerial shot of the lights on at Soldier Field
    OK, so I KNOW it's not baseball related, but they turned-on the lights at the newly renovated Soldier Field tonight for the first time to start a 100-hour test for aiming and color testing. I'll need to check this place out, but I can wait until next year...

    posted at 10:37 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Sunday, July 27, 2003

    White Sox 9 - Devil Rays 1

    Chicago White Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays

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    posted at 09:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, July 26, 2003

    White Sox 6 - Devil Rays 10

    Chicago White Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays

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    posted at 10:36 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, July 25, 2003

    You're messin' with my life...

    Last week, Carol & I were soaking up the great vibes of attending Major League Baseball's All-Star Game festivities.

    This morning, players reported to Training Camp. Football training camp.

    I'm not ready. It's baseball season. My life's Baseball Clock is still ticking. My White Sox have just won 8 in a row as of tonight. (Frank Thomas hit his 400th career home run). Football won't exist for months for me.

    Go away... let me enjoy my sport...

    posted at 10:46 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Tuesday, July 22, 2003

    White Sox 5 - Indians 2

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

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    posted at 05:47 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, July 20, 2003

    White Sox 10 - Tigers 1

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:28 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, July 19, 2003

    White Sox 6 - Tigers 2

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, July 17, 2003

    Long-timer old-timer

    We always see him at the park. I mean always - almost like we can't get rid of him.

    Now, he's done it again.

    77-year-old Minnie Minoso stepped-up to the plate for the St. Paul Saints against the Gary RailCats (NOT an MLB affiliate - this is the independent Northern League, along with our local Schaumburg Flyers).

    He drew a walk.

    He has now played professional baseball in seven decades.

    posted at 08:35 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Tuesday, July 15, 2003

    MLB 74th All-Star Game

    MLB 74th All-Star Game
    Another crummy day at work, another crummy drive into the city. The vehicle inspections seem a little bit more thorough. Gates opened at 4 for the 7 o'clock game. We had a long wait ahead of us, but we didn't care. It wasn't a wait - it was an experience.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:51 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Monday, July 14, 2003

    Gatorade All-Star Workout Day and CENTURY 21 HR Derby

    So, after a bad half-day at the office, I went home, picked-up Carol, and drove down to "The Cell". Being a weekday, traffic on the Kennedy was a mess. We still got there just before the gates opened for the day. Today, however, was a new experience.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:47 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, July 13, 2003

    RadioShack All-Star Sunday

    Our drive to "The Cell" wasn't bad, with the traffic being light, even around the ballpark. All of the park's "official" parking lots were "Coupon Only" (which we had), so it kept a lot of the traffic away from the area. Our coupon was for a different lot than our Season Ticket coupons, so we parked north of the park instead of south. That allowed us to view the outside of the park a bit better, and that's when I finally saw it. I don't know how long it's been this way, but it's now official. Gone was the banner that hung over the "Comiskey Park" that was carved into the concrete. It now says U.S. Cellular Field. Not because of a temporary banner - it was now carved into the facade. Damn.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:35 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Saturday, July 12, 2003

    John Hancock All-Star FanFest

    John Hancock All-Star FanFest
    We drive downtown to McCormick Place South for FanFest. The walk from the parking lot takes almost 20 minutes. It's a HUGE hall, and it's full of baseball stuff. It's Not like SoxFest, with local vendors selling, well, "junk" and a few seminars and autographs. No, this is Baseball. This is Mecca. My Mecca.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 03:34 PM | Link | Baseball § |
    Quick update from All-Star Fan Fest
    posted at 11:42 AM | Link | Audblog § |
    Wooo Hooo!!!! You know what starts today??????

    2003 All-Star Game - This Time It Counts
    Even though that it actually started yesterday, today is the first day of All-Star Game festivities for us!!!!

    Yes, we have tickets to all of the All-Star Game events. Today is John Hancock All-Star FanFest at McCormick Place - 300,000 square feet of interactive games, exhibits, memorabilia, merchandise and other baseball-themed attractions.

    And it all culminates with the All-Star game Tuesday night.

    If you love baseball, this is going to be a great couple of days!!!!

    posted at 07:39 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Thursday, July 10, 2003

    Sausage Battery

    Screen Capture of the Sausage Race incident at Miller Park last night
    At Milwaukee Brewers games, there's a weird little piece of Americana that happens between the 6th and 7th innings - the Brewers/Klement's Racing Sausages. Basically, it's 4 people dressed-up in sausage costumes the run a race. Hokey, yes, but somehow this just seems all-American, and All-Midwestern (if there was such a term), and is just part of the legacy of baseball that we see all over the minor league systems, brought forward to the major leagues.

    Last night, however, turned... weird.

    Pittsburgh first baseman Randall Simon was booked for misdemeanor battery for hitting the Italian Sausage as she went by the Pirates' third-base dugout. As the Italian Sausage went down, she took down the Hot Dog as well.

    That's just not right.

    (They both were treated at the scene for scraped knees.)

    Oh, and the Bratwurst won.

    Screen Capture of the Sausage Race incident at Miller Park last night
    Update: The sausages didn't want to file criminal charges, so the sheriff cited Simon with Disorderly Conduct and fined him $432.

    posted at 07:19 AM | Link | Odd § |

    Tuesday, July 01, 2003

    Fine tuning the team

    Chicago White Sox
    After watching the Sox game tonight, I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope with the team. Now, GM Kenny Williams has had a busy day making some trades that could make things interesting...

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:58 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, June 29, 2003

    White Sox 2 - Cubs 5

    Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, June 15, 2003

    White Sox 0 - Padres 1

    Chicago White Sox San Diego Padres

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 14, 2003

    White Sox 6 - Padres 5

    Chicago White Sox San Diego Padres

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    posted at 10:31 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 07, 2003

    Baseball collision

    I actually had the Cubs game on the TV. That wasn't scary enough, but what I saw happen on the field was really scary. It's the top of the 4th Inning, 1 out, a 1-0 count on Jason Giambi, who pops up the next pitch. The popup is in the infield, in front of the mound. Kerry Wood sort of goes for it, but first baseman Hee Seop Choi comes in to make the grab. The two of them collide, and when Choi comes down, his head bounces hard off the the foul line dirt between 3rd and home. Well, he looked like he was out (as in unconscious). The trainers rushed out there and got in his face to see if they could get a reaction (I couldn't really tell), then they place a hand on his chest, sort of to make sure he was breathing and they took his pulse (carotid and wrist). He looked in really bad shape. They opened-up the big doors in right field and brought in a Fire Department ambulance (fortunately, there's a firehouse a few doors across the street and a few doors down from the left field corner). They eventually got him on a gurney, got him in the ambulance, worked on him a while, and they finally left. It shook up the teams and the fans. You never want to see a player get hurt. Oh, BTW, he held onto the ball for the out.
    Update: He's in fair condition with a concussion.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 01:26 PM | Link | Cubs § |

    Friday, June 06, 2003

    8 Games
    Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa has been suspended for eight games for violating Major League Baseball Rule 6.06 (d) in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on June 3, 2003, Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations, announced today.

    Sammy immediately appealed the suspension, allowing him to play in what is being described as a "historical" series against the New York Yankees. Hmmmm... it's supposed to rain this afternoon...

    Update: Yankees 5 Cubs 3. Sosa 1-for-4 2 strikeouts. (Boxscore)

    posted at 11:35 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Tuesday, June 03, 2003

    Corktroversy

    Screen Capture of ESPN coverage of Sammy Sosa's postgame press conference
    So much for going to bed early... it's all over the news. In fact, lead story on each of the newscasts: Sosa ejected after cork is found in shattered bat. First inning of the game tonight (Boxscore), Sammy Sosa comes to the plate with Alex Gonzalez on 2nd and Mark Grudzielanek on 3rd, and with a 3-2 count from former teammate Jeremi Gonzalez he hits a ground ball to 2nd and his bat explodes. Sure enough, there's cork in it. Sammy is ejected.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:24 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Wednesday, May 28, 2003

    One down, one to go

    William Ligue Jr. pleaded guilty to aggravated battery against Kansas City Royals coach Tom Gamboa last September 19th at Comiskey Park (yes, back before "The Joan", at TPFKAC™). Now, lets see what happens to Ump Jumper Eric Dybas.

    posted at 04:52 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, May 25, 2003

    White Sox 8 - Tigers 5 - 12 innings

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

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    posted at 04:07 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, May 24, 2003

    White Sox 0 - Tigers 1

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:55 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, May 19, 2003

    White Sox 2 - Blue Jays 12

    Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays

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    posted at 10:59 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, May 16, 2003

    Yes! The motto of my life!

    The motto of my life
    Tonight, Carol & I were at Galyan's shopping for walking shoes. We passed through the department of baseball clothing and it just jumped right out at me! I saw it on the rack and it called to me. Too bad it was a kids size, but there it was - a t-shirt with a basball on it and writing around it. After 46 years of my life, I finally found the shirt that said what I've been saying here about my love of baseball and my "clock".

    Life begins when the season starts

    posted at 09:46 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Monday, May 12, 2003

    American Stories

    I was looking for something to watch while I was on the computer tonight, trying to clean-up some email. Usually on a Monday night I'd probably watch Crossing Jordan, but just couldn't get myself to watch that Three's company movie on NBC. I switched over to Channel 11 (our local PBS affiliate), and saw that Ken Burns American Stories was on. They were broadcasting "Inning 6" of his Baseball series. I hadn't seen this series in years (it was originally broadcast in 1994). I love looking back at baseball. I just love baseball, I can't help it. Watching this just makes me feel good. Baseball showed everything that was right with America... at least as it was up to about 30-40 years ago. It makes me feel whole. I can't explain it. (Was I a ball player in a prior life? Why do I feel good at a ball park? Why am I drawn to this game?)

    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |

    Saturday, May 10, 2003

    Live from Baseball As America

    Powered by audblog audblog audio post

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    posted at 01:48 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Saturday, May 03, 2003

    White Sox 2 - Mariners 12

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners

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    posted at 09:21 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, May 02, 2003

    Wolves 0 - Griffins 2 - Western Conference Semifinals - Game 4

    2003 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:41 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, May 01, 2003

    Wolves 1 - Griffins 2 - Western Conference Semifinals - Game 3

    2003 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:24 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, April 30, 2003

    Fog Delay

    Screen Capture of the White Sox game - shot from the Center Field camera in the fog Oakland Athletics first base coach Brad Fischer (35) watches the game against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning on Wednesday, April 30, 2003, in Chicago. The game was delayed 14 minutes due to heavy fog after the third inning. (Brian Kersey/AP) Oakland Athletics manager Ken Macha, from left, Chicaho White Sox's manager Jerry Manuel and crew chief Rick Reed discuss delaying the game after the third inning on Wednesday, April 30, 2003, in Chicago. The game was delayed 14 minutes due to heavy fog. (Brian Kersey/AP) U.S. Cellular Field is partially obscurred during a 14-minute fog delay during the Oakland Athletics Chicago White Sox game on Wednesday, April 30, 2003, in Chicago. (Brian Kersey/AP)
    I'm trying to watch the White Sox game on Fox Sports Chicago right now. The operative word here is trying. There's some hellacious fog rolling in, and the crew is having to use different camera angles so that you can actually see the ball. Before they started the top of the 4th, the umpires called a delay due to the fog. It's bad.
    Update: Oakland 4 White Sox 1 - Temperatures fell from 68 at the first pitch to 50 by the end of the third, 14-minute delay following the end of the third inning and Jerry Manuel asked the umpire crew for a delay (that was granted - after all, Magglio Ordonez lost Eric Byrnes' fly ball for a go-ahead triple) which lasted 31 minutes.

    posted at 07:51 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, April 27, 2003

    White Sox 3 - Twins 1

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

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    posted at 04:29 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

    Saturday, April 26, 2003

    White Sox 7 - Twins 4

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:59 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Tuesday, April 22, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Bears 2 (Overtime) - Western Conference Quarterfinals - Game 5

    2003 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Hershey Bears

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    Field of Morons

    Brothers Al (right) and Tom Skutnik, both of Chicago, hold a pair of boxer shorts they say were torn by security guards who ushered Al off the field Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. Both Al and Tom ran onto the field and were arrested and charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing. (Tribune photo by David Klobucar) Copyright © 2003, ChicagoSports.com Chicagoan Al Skutnik talks about his reasons for running onto U.S. Cellular Field Tuesday night. (Tribune photo by David Klobucar) Copyright © 2003, ChicagoSports.com
    Carol told me about this article in last week's Trib that I didn't see, so I had to find it and read it online.

    Oh, this so pisses me off...

    The Skutnik brothers said they did it because they love the game, and only meant to excite the crowd when they partially disrobed, leapt from the stands and raced across the playing field Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
    Whaaaat??????? Excite the crowd??? It's illegal, you friggin' moron!
    "You go to a game to have a good time. You just want to pump up the crowd," he said.

    "I love the game. I just wanted to be close to the baseball players," said Tom Skutnik, 20. "The game was awesome. We ran out on to the field, it felt good with everybody rooting us on."

    Of course, during the interview, they're wearing Cubs jerseys and hats... and the Ump Jumper (Eric J. Dybas, 24, of Bolingbrook) is a Cub fan, too...
    A close friend and roommate, Tony Consalvo, 21, said he was surprised by the accusations leveled against Dybas, who he said is an avid Cubs fan. Consalvo said Dybas isn't usually the type to cause trouble, especially on Tuesday's night's scale.

    "Every once in a while, when he gets a few beers in him, he acts a little bit nutty," Consalvo said. "He's a cool guy. He has a lot of talk in him but he usually doesn't do anything about it."

    A little bit nutty... well, at least these idiots are banned from the park now...

    posted at 10:01 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, April 20, 2003

    White Sox 4 - Indians 7

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

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    posted at 04:15 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 19, 2003

    White Sox 12 - Indians 3

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians

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    posted at 05:02 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, April 18, 2003

    Of knuckleheads and bobbleheads

    Well, the Chicago Tribune has picked-up on the Ump Jumper in "Of knuckleheads and bobbleheads" and the potential promotions that they would like to see at TPFKAC™:

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:46 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Wednesday, April 16, 2003

    Ump Jumper Top 10

    Late Show with David Letterman
    Dave just isn't letting it go... again... just like last time. Tonight's Top 10 List:

    Top Ten Excuses From The Guy Who Attacked The Umpire

    10. "I thought it was 'Attack A Defenseless Umpire Night'"
    9. "Let's see you drink 15 beers and not do something stupid"
    8. "Look at all the endorsements the shirtless father and son lunatics got"
    7. "I wanted to impress Royals shortstop Angel Berroa"
    6. "Umpire? I thought he was a vampire"
    5. "It was Royals-White Sox game -- somebody's gotta make it exciting"
    4. "You never heard of a little thing called 'spring fever'?"
    3. "Pete Rose bet me I wouldn't do it"
    2. "You're just not yourself when you've got shingles"
    1. "From my angle, he looked exactly like Uday Hussein"

    posted at 11:07 PM | Link | TV § |
    Wolves 3 - Bears 5 - Western Conference Quarterfinals - Game 2

    2003 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Hershey Bears

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    The Ump Jumper

    Well, the Chicago Tribune has dubbed the idiot last night the "Ump Jumper". Seems apropos. The haven't charged the idiot yet. But it also seems that the fallout has just begun:

    Kansas City general manager Allard Baird told The Kansas City Star his team would not take the field Wednesday unless he was satisfied with the security. Royals spokeswoman Chris Stathos said Wednesday the team would report to the stadium, but that the decision to play would be made at game time.
    Oh, great. This is escalating just because of a bunch of punks that just don't get it. The Cubs' GM has a great point:
    "You still couldn't prevent a person, one lunatic or whatever you want to call it, from trying to get his 10 seconds of fame. I don't think you could ever say you're going to prevent it completely in any stadium: football, basketball, baseball, whatever," he said.

    posted at 02:16 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Tuesday, April 15, 2003

    No!!!! Not Again!!!

    Security arrives as an unidentified fan attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz as the eighth inning ended. (Tribune photo by Charles Cherney) Copyright © 2003, The Chicago Tribune Security takes away the unidentified fan that attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz. (Tribune photo by Charles Cherney) Copyright © 2003, The Chicago Tribune Security officials are surrounded by Kansas City players as a fan is removed from the field after attacking first base umpire Laz Diaz. (AP photo) Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press The White Sox fan who attacked the umpire is taken away by Chicago police. (Tribune photo by Charles Cherney) Copyright © 2003, The Chicago Tribune The man who attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz sits handcuffed in a Chicago police car. (Tribune photo by Charles Cherney) Copyright © 2003, The Chicago Tribune

    Nooooo!!!!!! Kansas City comes to town to play the White Sox... and another fan jumps out of the stands, this time he attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz. Shades of the Tom Gamboa attack by the shirtless father and son team last September. Know what's the pisser??? This was the fourth time during the game when fans ran out onto the field!!! We are soooo screwed. I wouldn't be surprised if Major League Baseball made a formal complaint, or at least a request, to get the whole security "thing" under control before the All-Star Game rolls into town. This just so pisses me off. These weren't baseball fans. these weren't Sox fans. these were assholes that decided to go to a baseball game and just screw around. Well, buddy, I hope your ass gets thrown in jail for a while. Stay the hell out of my park!

    Note: I blame the White Sox for this. Look, I know these kind of "fans" exist at Wrigley, but you don't see this happen nearly as often. Why? The design of the park. The walls are brick, usually a good height, and depending where you are located, your seats may be a bit above the ground, all making it difficult to get onto the field. A few years ago, in their zeal to squeeze more revenue from the fans that actually show up at TPFKAC™, the White Sox added rows of seats down each line. By doing that, they brought the level of the seats down to field level, and put up a rail that - if you stand right next to it - hits you below the knee. That's right - to get onto the field, all you have to do is step over a rail that is only as high as your knee. WTF???? Who the hell's idea was that? Well, guess what? There's more fan incursions now than there used to be - gee, I wonder why??? So, White Sox, what are you going to do about this??? I am sooo pissed...

    posted at 10:00 PM | Link | Baseball § |
    TPFKAC™

    Look, I'm going on record here... I can't get myself to call that place US Cellular Field yet. It's still Comiskey to me, so cut me some slack until I "transition". Maybe I should be calling it "The Park Formerly Known As Comiskey™" or TPFKAC™.

    posted at 12:43 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, April 14, 2003

    No Bull?

    One of my favorite baseball movies has got to be Bull Durham. There's so much in that movie about how I feel about the game. Great quote, great storyline. Well, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in Cooperstown, New York was going to hold a celebration April 26-27 marking the 15th anniversary of the movie. Notice the word "was". I am ssoooooo pissed. Why? They canceled the celebration. OK, now why did they cancel???

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:26 AM | Link | Current Events § |

    Sunday, April 13, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Bears 2 - Western Conference Quarterfinals - Game 1

    2003 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Hershey Bears

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 06:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, April 09, 2003

    All-Star Game Tickets

    MLB 74th All-Star Game
    I got home from work to find... an invoice from the Chicago White Sox. there it was - my invoice for All-Star Week tickets. Yes, the whole week: Radio Shack All-Star Sunday (All-Star Futures Game and Legends and Celebrity Softball Game), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day (All-Star Batting Practice and Century 21 Homerun Derby), and, of course, the 74th MLB All-Star Game, parking for each day, and tickets for the John Hancock All-Star FanFest at McCormick Place.

    Because we've only got weekend season tickets, we won't be in our normal seats (since there's three season ticket packages occupying the same seats), so we will be out in Section 105 - Right Field. Downside: not out normal box seats, a bit further away from the action. Upside: WAY COOL LOCATION for the Homerun Derby!!!!

    I've got to get this invoice back to them with some money...

    posted at 06:19 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Monday, April 07, 2003

    Bye bye Jerry... not gonna miss ya

    Chicago Bulls
    One of the two most hated sports executives in Chicago, Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause, quit today. Lots of mixed emotions in the community about this - a lot of players loved him, but I don't know of a single fan that didn't hate the guy. The fans won't miss him, and maybe, just maybe, the Bulls can start getting their act together.

    posted at 07:10 PM | Link | Bulls § |

    Sunday, April 06, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Rampage 6

    Chicago Wolves San Antonio Rampage
    Holy crap, are we tired...

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:23 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    White Sox 10 - Tigers 2

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:20 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 05, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Rampage 3

    Chicago Wolves San Antonio Rampage

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    White Sox 7 - Tigers 0

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers
    OK, so would you trade your 37 degrees and cloudy with light rain for 32 degrees and partly sunny?

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 04:20 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, April 04, 2003

    White Sox 5 - Tigers 2

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers
    OK, this was NOT fun. The traffic was much lighter than I had expected, so we got to the park 1 hour before the 3:05 game time. It's cold, windy, raining.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:58 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, March 31, 2003

    Baseball at work

    I've got RealOne Player open and listening to MLB Gameday Audio of the White Sox season opener in Kansas City. Of course, I don't like the content (we're losing), though the quality is fine. Opening Day at the office... ahhhhh...
    Update: Royals 3 White Sox 0

    posted at 03:36 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, March 30, 2003

    Can you hear that? It's my clock! It's ticking again!

    Well, at 7:16 PM CST, all became alright in my little, twisted world. Why? Because at 5:16 PM PST, John Lackey pitched a ball to Doug Glanville, and the 2003 Season of Major League Baseball is underway. Aaahhhhhh... baseball...
    Update: Final - Texas 6 Anaheim 3

    posted at 09:57 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Saturday, March 29, 2003

    Wolves 2 - Bears 2

    Chicago Wolves Hershey Bears

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:11 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, March 22, 2003

    White Sox Open House

    Well, here it is spring, and it's only fitting that Carol & I head down to Comiskey park for a Season Ticket Holder Open House for the team to show-off what they're doing inside the park for renovations.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 01:52 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, March 21, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Americans 2 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves Rochester Americans

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, March 15, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Phantoms 2

    Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:25 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, March 12, 2003

    Wolves 5 - Mighty Ducks 2

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:32 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, March 10, 2003

    Tickets!

    2003 Season Tickets Package
    I got home from work to find a package from 333 W. 35th Street. YES!!! Our White Sox Season Tickets came! Let's see what's new... there's 4 Sunday games with TBA times - meaning we'll have to see if there's interest at the end of the year to be on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Dog Day is Saturday April 19, Paul Konerko Bobble Head Dolls on Friday July 18, a new night - Rat Pack Night Friday July 25, White Sox Comic Books Sunday August 10, and Elvis Night Friday August 22. We also got tickets to a party in two weeks to see some of the renovations at the park. The season is getting closer!!!!

    posted at 06:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, March 08, 2003

    White Sox Garage Sale

    Took a drive down to Comiskey Park today to go to the White Sox annual Garage Sale, just to see if there was anything interesting, not to mention to see if there was anything interesting around the park.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 02:11 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, March 01, 2003

    Wolves 5 - Grizzlies 4 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:40 PM | Link | Wolves | 3 comments § |

    Friday, February 28, 2003

    The sound of the crowd after ash strikes horsehide...

    I've had an extremely stressfull and crappy day at work... until now. I've brought my little Sony Walkman and I'm listening to Spring Training Baseball - Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. Ah, baseball...
    Update: Ah, the first loss of the year. Sox lose 14-5 (Boxscore)

    posted at 02:42 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Saturday, February 22, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Aeros 3 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:38 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, February 17, 2003

    Damn, not again...

    23-year-old Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died this morning less than 24 hours after complaining of dizziness during a workout and collapsing.

    posted at 09:10 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Sunday, February 09, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Admirals (Norfolk) 3

    Chicago Wolves Norfolk Admirals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 06:36 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Friday, February 07, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Aeros 3 (Overtime)

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:13 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, February 01, 2003

    Front Page!

    Chicago Tribune - February 1, 2003 - Front Page
    There it was - right there. The Chicago Tribune. Not even the Sports section. FRONT PAGE. Above the fold. Comiskey Park benched by Sox By Jim Kirk, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporters Teddy Greenstein and Gary Washburn contributed to this story. My quote, right there on the front page!

    "I don't like naming rights," said Northwest Side native Michael Lans, 46. "I don't like the idea. It will always be Comiskey to me. But the revenue is good. It would be nice to see some tweaks."
    Almost word for word. I mean, Teddy started with me and he was scribbling with his own shorthand on his memo pad, but basically, though I said more, that was what I said last night at SoxFest. I've never seen myself quoted on a front page before. It's a really weird feeling.

    posted at 07:39 AM | Link | Mundane § |

    Friday, January 31, 2003

    SoxFest 2003

    Carol got off work early, came and picked me up so I could leave early and on an ugly, wet Friday we drove downtown to the Hyatt Regency Chicago to attend SoxFest 2003.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 11:50 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, January 27, 2003

    Zamboni on eBay

    The AHL's Syracuse Crunch is auctioning-off their Zamboni on eBay. It's not the current one (I guess they retired this one last year), but it's fully operational. The last bid I saw was $3,050.00, and it met it's reserve. How cool is it to get a fully functional Zamboni for just over 3 grand? It does need work, however ("The washer tank is rusted, but could be replaced"). Still that's cheaper than the jersey I saw auctioned at a Wolves game a few weeks ago (coincidentally, a game against the Syracuse Crunch). (Auction ends February 4)
    Update: It went for the $3,050.00 bid.

    posted at 09:35 AM | Link | Hockey | 1 comment § |

    Sunday, January 26, 2003

    This ain't a song for the broken-hearted

    Super Bowl Website

    Carol & I picked-up my mom and we went to Diane & Melinda's for our own private Super Bowl party.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:39 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Saturday, January 25, 2003

    Comiskey Park Update

    Last month, when we were on our meat run to Michigan, we were on the Dan Ryan and passed Comiskey Park. That was the first time I noticed it - there was something different about the park. The Upper deck looked the same, so there was no structural change there, but something else was going on. So, since I had nothing else to do today, I drove down to Comiskey to check it out.

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 03:38 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

    Wednesday, January 15, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Aeros 5 - Overtime

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, January 13, 2003

    Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party

    Went to the annual Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party at the Allstate Arena tonight. Same stuff - not any different than last year. Saw all the team. Went in the locker room. Climbed on the Zamboni. Free stadium food. *yawn*

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 09:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, January 12, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Crunch 1

    Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 06:24 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, January 08, 2003

    Wolves 4 - Moose 2

    Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:29 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Friday, January 03, 2003

    Wolves 3 - Griffins 4

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:50 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, December 29, 2002

    Oh, please, just get it over with...

    Chicago BearsTampa Bay Buccaneers
    The Chicago Bears (4-11) have had 46 different starters this season. 46. Injuries have decimated this team. It's the end of the season, a Sunday Night game on ESPN against Tampa Bay (11-4). The Bucs have never won a game (0-21) if the temperature is under 40. It's 35. Something tells me that really won't make a difference tonight. They've got the #1 defense in the league, and they're going after our third string quarterback with a fourth stringer as backup. There's no way the Bears can win. Let's just get it over with...
    Update: End of the 1st: Buccaneers 0 Bears 0
    Update: End of the half: Buccaneers 6 Bears 0
    Update: End of the 3rd: Buccaneers 6 Bears 0
    Update: Final: Buccaneers 15 Bears 0

    posted at 07:17 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Saturday, December 28, 2002

    Wolves 5 - Rampage 3

    Chicago Wolves San Antonio Rampage

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, December 21, 2002

    Wolves 5 - Admirals 2

    Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:04 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Tuesday, December 17, 2002

    Da Bears Anthrax Scare...

    This showed up in this morning's EMail:

    LAKE FOREST,IL. (AP) - Chicago Bears football practice was delayed nearly two hours today after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Dick Jauron immediately suspended practice while police and federal investigators were called to investigate.

    After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance unknown to the players was the goal line. Practice was resumed after special agents decided that the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again.

    posted at 11:13 AM | Link | Odd § |

    Wednesday, December 11, 2002

    Wolves 5 - Ice Cats 4

    Chicago Wolves Worcester Ice Cats

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:26 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, December 09, 2002

    MNF x 3

    Monday Night Football Chicago BearsMiami Dolphins
    At least it's the last one... another Monday Night Football with the Bears... Three Monday games this year. It's been raining on and off - deluge-type rain. The play is bad from both teams. I haven't seen this amount of turnovers in a while.
    Update: End of the 1st: Dolphins 7 Bears 0
    Update: End of the half: Dolphins 14 Bears 0
    Update: End of the 3rd: Dolphins 21 Bears 3
    Update: Final: Dolphins 27 Bears 9

    posted at 08:25 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Saturday, December 07, 2002

    The Big Hurt

    Chicago White Sox
    So, Frank Thomas returns to the White Sox after he can't find a team to take him. No big surprise. I have mixed feelings about this guy. Yes, he's a great power hitter - but he hasn't been that way recently. There was a time where he led the league in walks because he was so feared. Not any more. He's too moody. He's had some injuries over the last few years, leading to some pretty bad stats. An, even though I'm a White Sox fan and follow the American League, he's now just a Designated Hitter and, well, that's just not right. (Even though, in the past, if he played First Base, his stats went up, though he always denied it.) So, the Sox have actually torn-up his contract and reworked it for a couple of years with both sides getting to exercise "mutual options" for renewal. So, Frank, if you're back, you better start doing something and become the leader of that team - something you have never done in the past 13 years on this team.

    posted at 09:30 AM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |

    Saturday, November 30, 2002

    Wolves 2 - Griffins 1 - Overtime

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:14 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, November 27, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Grizzlies 1

    Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:52 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, November 23, 2002

    Wolves 6 - Aeros 1

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:33 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, November 18, 2002

    MNF

    Monday Night Football Chicago BearsSt. Louis Rams
    Oh, great... another Monday Night Football with the Bears... They do such a great year last year that they earned a couple of Monday Night Games this year. They hadn't been on since 1997, until a few weeks ago when they lost to the Packers. Should be interesting... da Bears have lost seven in a row... and I think I know why: the Bears have not played on grass all this year!
    Update: End of the 1st: Rams 7 Bears 0
    Update: End of the half: Rams 14 Bears 6
    Update: End of the 3rd: Rams 14 Bears 13
    Update: Final: Rams 21 Bears 16. Eight straight losses.

    posted at 08:02 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Saturday, November 02, 2002

    Wolves 0 - Wolf Pack 4

    Chicago Wolves Hartford Wolf Pack

    read more of this entry »


    posted at 10:19 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, October 30, 2002

    Darrian Chapman

    Darrian Chapman
    Chicago lost a sportscaster today. Darrian Chapman at NBC5 died from a massive heart attack at age 37 before playing at his weekly hockey game. He was a gregarious guy on air, and you can tell how much he loved sports and how much he loved the city. It was a shock to a lot of the sports people in town.

    posted at 06:15 PM | Link | TV § |

    Sunday, October 27, 2002

    Angels World Champs

    Anaheim Angels
    The Angels win the World Series 4-1. A great series - nice and tight, give and take. Fox had a great shot of Giants manager Dusty Baker's 3½-year-old son Darren in the dugout - crying. Theis World Series was the first time two Wild Card teams played each other. As for Anaheim, they've never won the Series in their history. Last year, Anaheim was 41 games out!

    posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Saturday, October 26, 2002

    Another Lazy Saturday

    A nice lazy Saturday - exactly what Carol needs. We spent the day watching the Breeders Cup from Arlington Park. It was great hearing so many people say how great the facility is. Too bad it was cloudy and cold - the place looks beautiful in the sun. A new event record was set for All Sources Handle for the Breeders' Cup - $115,523,156. $13,568,233 was handled just at Arlington. There were 6 winners of the Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick 6, all purchased at Catskill OTB in upstate New York, with a payout of $428,392. Wow.

    Paramedics responding to the house behind us
    Just as the Breeders' Cup Classic was getting underway, paramedics pulled up at the house behind us. We never see fire department equipment in the neighborhood. Never. Looks like they took the homeowner away on a backboard with his head braced. I have no idea what happened.

    Watched pieces of the World Series, Trading Spaces, and the Chicago Wolves hockey game on CLTV tonight, all at the same time (I love my remote). Wolves lost in overtime. Angels came-back and forced a Game 7. The jury is still out on Hilda Santo-Tomas (I think it was 1-1 tonight with Hildi - the huge dot portrait and the tall coffee table in Philadelphia: East Avenue just didn't work for me, but the kid's bedroom with the climbing wall and tent in Virginia: Gentle Heights Court was way cool)

    posted at 10:35 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Friday, October 18, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Mighty Ducks 3

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Tonight's Promotion: Magnetic Schedules Tonight's Promotion: Replica Calder Cup Championship Team Rings All of the new championship banners are hung Hmmm... a new bar opened inside the Allstate Arena A hurried photo of a real Calder Cup Championship ring
    So Carol says, "Do you want to go to the hockey game?" Of course, I have to ask "Why?" "So I can get a ring." Oh, jeez. The Wolves are giving out replica Championship Rings to the first 5,000 fans tonight. They're doing it on November 2nd, our next game (we have a 21-game Season Ticket package, and tonight wasn't one of our games), but Carol didn't believe they would give out rings on the 2nd (they are), so we go to the game. (They also are giving out Magnetic Schedules tonight, the same ones we got on opening night). So we get our rings (we have three of them now, one for each championship). They're pretty cool, but they're just not something you'd actually wear out in public. The Wolves play the Ducks again tonight (same as opening night). The teams play a much more disciplined game, but by 10:55 of the second period Frederic Cassivi stopped only 12 of 16 shots and got replaced by Norm Maracle, who stopped all 14 shots that he saw. Steve Maltais had two goals, but the Wolves lose 4-3.

    posted at 10:34 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, October 12, 2002

    Raise the banner, hoist the cup

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Tonight's Promotion: Magnetic Schedules Tonight's Promotion: Calder Cup Championship Team Photo New season - new ice - new logo Screen capture of CLTV Broadcast: Captain Steve Maltais brings out the Calder Cup championship trophy... with dry ice in it The team gathering for the pre-game ceremonies Screen capture of CLTV Broadcast: Captain Steve Maltais gets his<br />
Championship Ring Screen capture of CLTV Broadcast: I'm thinkin' putting dry ice in the Clader Cup is not a good idea... The Chicago Wolves with their Championship Banners Screen capture of CLTV Broadcast: Raising the championship banners Screen capture of CLTV Broadcast: Faceoff of the 2003-2003 Season Screen capture of CLTV Broadcast: Adopt-A-Dog info Two Adopt-a-Dog's check each other out Nice puppy for a nice lady
    We returned to the Allstate Arena to watch the season opener of the Chicago Wolves playing the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. First off - lousy day outside - low 50's and rain. There was a big tailgate party outside with live entertainment, free hotdogs and drinks - that we just couldn't get ourselves to participate in. Walking into the arena, we noticed something missing - the AHL mandated the use of protective nets to be installed above the glass on each end of the ice. No nets. (Found out later that the nets are on backorder, and should be installed sometime next month.) Before the game, the entire team was introduced. Then, the captain, Steve Maltais skated out with the Calder Cup trophy. It was a bit weird though - they had stuck dry ice in it so it was smoking up a storm as Malts skated around the ice. The team was presented with their rings, we all watched a video of the Calder Cup playoffs, then they unveiled the banners and raised them to the ceiling. That's always a great time for a fan of any team - to watch them raise a championship banner. So, faceoff was about 27 minutes late. The game started out weak. We seem to handle the puck well, and skated well, but we were down 3-2 at the end of the second period. I don't know what happened during the second intermission, but the Wolves scored 5 goals in the final period to win 7-4.

    The Chicago Wolves continued their association with the City of Chicago Department of Animal Care and Control with their Adopt-a-Dog program. They set up "Dally's Dog Pound" - named after Wolves defenseman Dallas Eakins, who is a team spokesman for the program - in the East Lobby by the Customer Service Booth during 8 games this season (last season 98 dogs were adopted). It's really cool seeing the people interacting with the dogs and making the commitment to bring one home with them.

    After the game, we drove home to a pitch black neighborhood. No power! One of my computers at home had paged me that another device (not on a UPS) had stopped responding at 21:52:01. I hate having to fumble with locks in the dark, un-doing the electric garage door opener to get the car inside, and just stumbling through a dark, quiet house. The power came back at 11:20pm - no idea why it was out in the first place.

    posted at 11:56 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, October 07, 2002

    Don't trust a cow... or a Bear

    Monday Night Football Chicago BearsGreen Bay Packers
    Chicago burned to the ground 131 years ago today, in 1871. The Chicago Bears haven't been on Monday Night Football for 5 years? Coincidence? Well, yes - the Bears have sucked for too many years, ABC didn't want to lose revenue on a bad football game. As far as Chicago burning down - well, what do you want from a cow... Bears are losing 14-7 to the Green Bay Packers as I write this (End of the 1st Quarter). I'm not expecting a big turnaround by the end of the game. I'm sure that "Home Field" being in Champaign isn't helping either.
    Update: At the Half: Green Bay 24 Bears 14
    Update: End of the 3rd: Green Bay 31 Bears 14
    Update: Final: Green Bay 34 Bears 21 *sigh*

    posted at 08:53 PM | Link | Bears | 2 comments § |

    Saturday, October 05, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Griffins 2 - Preseason

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins The Edge in Bensenville The Chicago Wolves during warmups Odd sign behind the bench Chicago Wolves bench Coach Anderson's view of the game Play-by-Play announcer Judd Sirott (right) Wolves applying pressure in the Griffins zone The team coming off the ice at the end of the Second Period Medics attend to a little boy hit above the eye with a puck The Chicago Wolves win 3-2
    A bright, crisp autumn day in Chicago. Carol and I had absolutely nothing planned for today, and somehow we felt like we needed to start to gear-up for hockey season, so we wound up driving to Bensenville to go to the last Chicago Wolves preseason game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. We've never been to The Edge before - what a nice facility! Two rinks, lots of parking, good refreshments, great sight-lines. The game was So much better than last Wednesday. It was refreshing to see the style of play was back to what we've seen in the past - lots of aggression, decent puck control, wonderful shot combinations.

    Now, one of the aspects of these preseason games (other than seeing players that you will never see again after the next week), is that these are really community events at discount prices ($5 general admission), and a lot of families come out. The downside? Well, these are people who bring kids to the ring and don't really supervise them. So? Do you remember Brittanie Cecil at the Columbus Blue Jackets game? You go to the game, you MUST pay attention. There was a large group of 5-7 year-olds that were 7 rows up above the tunnel. There were NO adults with them. In the third period, a little boy (5 years old - maybe) got hit over the right eye with a puck. FREAKED OUT EVERYBODY. A linesman saw what happened and got upset about it, streaked across the ice to get a towel, and came back to get it to the people that were now trying to help the kid. When you see these many kids running around, and the parents not understanding what could happen, you just know that something like this would happen. It took quite a while to get some medical attention to the kid. Damn, I hate this. WAKE UP, PEOPLE!

    Anyway, Wolves won 3-2.

    posted at 10:01 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, October 03, 2002

    Envelope from RHLP

    Went out to get the mail... we received our Season Tickets from the Chicago Wolves, so I guess we're ready for hockey season. I'm still stuck on baseball, even though we went to that preseason game last night. Carol and I were commenting as we were freezing in the bleachers that it was hard shifting gears and watching hockey. The team didn't help - there was no flow to the game, it was just back and forth, lose the puck, screen the goalie, etc. Didn't help that you're looking at a bunch of new guys, and the teams don't have their names on their backs yet. Well, the Wolves got rid of 12 players earlier today, a few of the guys that were dressed from last night. The exciting thing, however, is that the Atlanta Thrashers (the parent team of the Wolves) just sent 5 guys down to the Wolves, all of them great players that were on the team last year. That should help, I guess. We'll see a week from Saturday.

    posted at 04:49 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, October 02, 2002

    Wolves 1 - Admirals 8 - Preseason

    Chicago Wolves Milwaukee Admirals Milwaukee Admirals at Chicago Wolves in Rolling Meadows Chicago Wolves in warmups before the game Michael Garnett in net during warmups (Brad Tapper in the foreground) AHL Preseason Hockey at the West Meadows Ice Arena A nasty fight breaks out at the end of the First Period Final score on the scoreboard
    Tonight, Carol and I took a quick drive to Rolling Meadows to go to the West Meadows Ice Arena. Our "Puck Boys", the Chicago Wolves, were having a preseason game there against the Milwaukee Admirals. Hey, the tickets were only $5 - how bad could it be? We always try to go to this game - the Wolves have been doing this for a few years now. Well, this was bad. Yes, it's preseason. Yes, the coaches are still trying to figure out who will make the team. It was still bad. The Wolves lost 8-1. There was no offense (we were outshot 47-26). There was no defense to help out the goaltenders. (Norm Maracle gave up 5 goals in a little over 29 minutes). The team can't handle the puck (as always) and can't control the puck. And there appears to be a little animosity between the two teams - I wonder if it started at the game last week? There was a nasty fight at the end of the First Period, that had everybody involved - except the goaltenders (which was actually surprising). By the end of the game, there were 8 Game Misconducts. Ugh. The season opener is next Saturday. They had better get their act together or this is going to be an ugly season.

    posted at 10:04 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, September 30, 2002

    Season over

    Major League Baseball
    That's it - the White Sox lost yesterday. The season is over. Yes, there's playoff games and the World Series, but when your team ends its season without post-season play - it's over. (Oh, but if your team gets into the Post-season - that's a whole other matter - the joy, the excitement, the constant following of everything your team does, as well as those in your league, and even dare to think it - those teams in the other league just in case...)

    I get all melancholy at this time of year. I measure my life by the seasons - baseball seasons that is. Yes, hockey is just around the corner (my minor league favorite - The AHL's Chicago Wolves - lost their first preseason game Saturday night 6-3), but I don't feel my body clock pacing hockey. It ticks to baseball. When the season is over, I count the days until pitchers and catchers report to camp, the days until the first Cactus League opener, the days until the first pitch of the new season, the first pitch of the home opener... I love baseball... I love being at the park and watching the games, watching how it progresses, the ebb and flow, the grass, the sounds, the tastes, the passing of time... how hard it was to leave Comiskey Park this week...

    I am always reminded of my favorite quote from a fictitious Terence Mann, talking to a fictitious Ray Kinsella:

    "The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come."
    Oh, to be in my seat again...
    posted at 08:32 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Thursday, September 26, 2002

    Last Home Game

    Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox The upper deck seats are covered with a blue tarp New paint test samples on the face of the upper deck, the back of the club level, and around the lower suites. Scaffolding to strip and paint the roof in the upper deck White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams being interviewed The guy running the radar gun for the NESN broadcast. Nice ear lobes. An 89 mph fastball from Danny Wright Danny Wright pitches to Lou Merloni Frank Thomas gets buckled on a pitch from Josh Hancock Magglio Ordonez hits a 2-run homerun off of Josh Hancock Magglio Ordonex trots home for his home run Nomar! Just get in the batter's box! The White Sox win 3-2 Goodbye, Comiskey Park... until next year... <*sniff*>
    I couldn't help it - I had to go to the White Sox game this afternoon. It was the last game of the season at home, and I felt compelled to go. Got a single ticket in the 11th row behind the plate. When I walked into the park (which was pretty empty at the time), you could tell the work on the upper deck was on it's way - all of the seats on the third base side had been covered in a blue tarp, and some scaffolding had been erected - looks like they're going to strip and paint the roof. Whoopee - new paint (too bad they don't have the money to fix the upper deck, like change the pitch, change the seating...). And speaking of new paint, the paint samples I saw Sunday night aren't the same paint samples that are there today - maybe they've gone from four colors to two in their selection process. I get some sausages (Polish with grilled onions and a Brat with kraut, which later I found out was an Italian Sausage instead) and go to my seat. Just before the game starts, this guy sits down in front of me with a bunch of equipment, and some other people are running an extension cord and some coax cable to his seat. He's working for NESN (the sports network that covers the Boston games) as a radar gun guy. this guy is definitely not a baseball fan, as he really acted like he wanted to be somewhere else all game. He must have got no more that 80% of the pitches on the gun, as he was fidgeting and bored and not paying attention. Oh, and it looked like he had pennies in his earlobes. Anyway, the game was great. Danny Wright held Boston to two hits in seven innings. Magglio Ordonez got a homerun off of first-time starter Josh Hancock. Keith Foulke got his career 100th save. Sox win 3-2. When Frank Thomas came up to bat in the eighth, the fans gave him a standing ovation - it could be his last at bat as a White Sox (because of the "Diminished Skills" clause of his contract (officially referred to as "revised payment rights") may be activated in the off-season). Then, the game was over, the season was over. I walked around the park almost by myself - there was only 12,304 in attendance and there were less people there now than when I was there last month for what could have been the last game before the strike. It was sad. I was sad to leave the place and I can't tell you why. I didn't want to leave. I just wanted to find a seat and just sit there - by myself. Me and the park. Me and Roger Bossard's turf. Me and the crappy blue seats. I felt safe. I felt comfortable. I couldn't stay - I had to go. And as I'm walking down the ramps, my eyes start to water behind my RayBans. Goodbye Comiskey. See you next year.

    posted at 05:56 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, September 25, 2002

    Shirtless Top 10

    Late Show with David Letterman
    Dave just isn't letting it go.... tonight's Top 10 List:

    Top Ten Shirtless Father And Son Explanations

    10. He was obstructing our view
    9. Autographed Tom Gamboa baseball would be worth more if he were dead
    8. We're sorry, you'll have to talk to our shirtless lawyer
    7. You try staying in your seat during a White Sox-Royals game
    6. Dr. Phil says fathers and sons form stronger bonds when they commit senseless acts of violence
    5. When two shirtless idiots can't attack anyone they want, the terrorists have won
    4. People do crazy things after nine beers
    3. For generations our family has proudly beaten first-base coach Tom Gamboa
    2. Getting in shape for hockey dad season
    1. Couple Mets players gave us some crazy weed, man

    posted at 11:05 PM | Link | TV § |

    Sunday, September 22, 2002

    Birthday cake and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball

    Diane getting ready to blow out her candles Carol driving on the Dan Ryan to Comiskey Park
    Went to my parents house for lunch. My sister Diane was over with Melinda so we could celebrate her birthday (remember, she was out of town on her birthday, though Carol and I already got her a present). Carol is driving this weekend since my car has that damn space-saver spare on it. I'll be getting new tires (yep, a full set) later this week. I think she's upset that she's driving, even though I've been driving to my parents and the ballpark all summer. She's pretty tired and stressed out right now. I didn't see too much of Dad. He didn't talk much, seemed tired and not as energetic as he has been. Hopefully, that was just today. His hospice nurse quit, and he has a new one - hopefully he wasn't the cause!

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins Tonight's Promotion: Fan Appreciation Night and Fireworks sponsored by LaSalle Bank John Miller of ESPN talking to the Twins during batting practice One of ESPN's remote cameras, on the rail of the White Sox dugout Tonight's lineups on the scoreboard Four different paint test samples on the face of the upper deck. The original unpainted concrete can be seen below.
    Hardly anybody in the parking lot when we pulled into Comiskey Park tonight, our last game of the season. The game time was moved to 7:05 just a few weeks ago, so ESPN can broadcast the game. They really bring out the equipment for the broadcast - they added 3 cameras around the plate, all remote control (one on the backstop, one at each dugout), one in straight away center, above the batter's eye for that special Strike Zone analysis shot. Plus three cameras in the regular center field position, a roving camera on the outfield concourse... Parabolic Mics everywhere in the outfield and camera wells - on guy in the camera well next to the White Sox dugout got hit with a ball - it went through the parabolic mic dish! I was looking around the park and noticed that they started test painting the concrete on the upper deck. There's four different colors, all gray. That's part of the off-season rehab. Nothing major - there's not enough money to really fix the upper deck. Did you know it would cost $4 million to replace the blue seats with green ones? It was Fan Appreciation Night - the team gave out gifts to some of the fans. We weren't one of them. The Sox SWEEP the Twins 8-2. It doesn't mean anything, as the Twins already clinched the division, but it was a show of PRIDE. Mark Buehrle got his 19th win (19-11), Frank Thomas, D'Angelo Jimenez, and Magglio Ordonez each had a home run. Afterwards, fireworks and saying goodbye to all of our Season Ticket buddies hoping to see them sitting somewhere around us next year. It was our last season ticket game this year, but I think I'll go to the Thursday afternoon game against the Red Sox, since that is the last home game. I just can't seem to let go of baseball this year...

    posted at 11:25 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 21, 2002

    White Sox 14 - Twins 4

    Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins The ramp to the upper deck is closed It's weird seeing the empty upper deck Replacement turf from the Rolling Stones Concert Either MLB people (or construction people) checking out the park from the upper deck When you see people dressed alike from across the park, don't you want to know who they are? Keith Folke pitching in relief Our Season Ticket Buddy Karen came over to say goodbye for the season
    Our final weekend of baseball at Comiskey Park. Extra security at the entrance and the checks were a bit more thorough (because of the Thursday Night Idiots). The upper deck is officially closed in preparation of some minor (unfortunately) remodeling for the All Star Season next year. There are people from Major League Baseball that have been touring the park as an advance team for the All Star Game (July 2003). The field is in pretty good shape, considering that the Rolling Stones played here a week ago yesterday. Roger Bossard, the groundskeeper, only had to replace 700 yards of turf - he was prepared to replace 2,000 yards. Even though the Twins clinched the division this week, the Sox weren't going to let them go quietly. The Sox won yesterday 10-2. Today, the Sox won 14-4. Jon Rauch (the tallest player in Major League Baseball at 6' 11") got the win. Magglio Ordonez had two home runs, Jose Valentin and Carlos Lee each had a home run. Great game - the boys played well, even though the Twins tried to come back. Keith Foulke finally got his ERA under 3.00 (2.99). Looks like he's coming back.

    posted at 06:57 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, September 19, 2002

    Shirtless thugs

    AP PHOTO: Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa (right) tries to defend himself. AP PHOTO: One of the two men who attacked Kansas City Royals' coach Tom Gamboa Thursday at Comiskey Park directs a fist Gamboa's way. Gamboa, whose hand is visible at lower right, prepares to fend his attacker off. AP PHOTO: Players and coaches from the Kansas City Royals rush onto the field to aid first base coach Tom Gamboa. AP PHOTO: Security removes one of the men from the field. AP PHOTO: Tom Gamboa is led into the clubhouse by a trainer after two men jumped from the stands and attacked the Royals coach.
    OH, CRAP... I'm upset and angry... During the top of the 9th at the White Sox - Royals game tonight a father and son charge the field and attack Royals First Base coach Tom Gamboa. They were sitting in the first row - there's no way security could have stopped them. What kind of family life do they have when a father and son attack a baseball player? I wish the media would stop calling these guys "fans". They were spectators - baseball fans would never do something this ugly. Great. Another black eye for Chicago, Chicago baseball, and the White Sox. Bastards. Hope they both get jail time.

    posted at 10:05 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, September 12, 2002

    The Wave

    OK, let me start by saying this - this is Chicago. If you go to a sporting event here, don't even think about starting a wave. We don't like it. It shows disrespect for the players on the field (or ice or court). It shows that you aren't paying attention to the damn game. Having said that, the University of Hungary has actually done a study of the wave.

    posted at 09:29 AM | Link | Odd § |

    Sunday, September 08, 2002

    White Sox 7 - Indians 6

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Today's Promotion - Night Lights from ComEd Gary watching me take a picture of the empty stands Attendance worse than yesterday - 15,067 Willie Harris playing shifted in short right for Jim Thome Aaron Rowand laying down a bunt Something's up - GM Kenny Williams in owner Jerry Reinsdorf's suite
    Back at Comiskey. The Indians haven't had a 4-game sweep of the Sox since 1948. Great. It could happen today. The weather is hotter and hazier than yesterday. The park is emptier than yesterday - 15,067 paid. The game starts similarly - The Sox lead 2-0, only to go down 4-2, and the next thing you know, we're losing 6-3. Bottom of the 9th, 2 on, 2 out - who comes to the plate? Frank Thomas. This guy has done nothing this year. A DH with a .245 average. I can't remember the last time he's done anything in a clutch situation - strikeouts, ground outs, pop outs. What does he do? 3-run home run to tie it! Magglio Ordonez gets on base, and then Joe Crede - with two strikes against him - singles home Mags. Sox win 7-6! No sweep! And they gain a game on Minnesota

    After the game, the Sox released Royce Clayton. So that's why Kenny Williams was hanging around in Jerry Reinsdorf's suite...

    posted at 09:45 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, September 07, 2002

    White Sox 2 - Indians 4 (Oh, and Gracie, Greeks and B&B)

    Gracie looks a bit confused Gracie is ready to go
    Time to pack-up Gracie. She looked a bit confused this morning, almost like she knew something was up but couldn't figure out what it is. But, then again, I think that Gracie's just not wired right. We got her packed up in the car and she just wouldn't settle down. She also didn't seem to recognize the neighborhood around my parents house. Odd. We got there and as soon as we walk into their house, she went nuts. Chelsea and her started wrestling as soon as they saw each other, like they missed it other. We couldn't stay long, since it's a baseball day and Fox has the coverage, so it's an early start.

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Today's Promotion - White Sox Baseball Hats by PrimeCo Season Ticket Holder Gift - Nellie Fox Bobble Head Doll Just because we've won doesn't mean we don't still buy Sox Split tickets from our guy - Joseph Poor attendance - 16,622 Stadium Organist Nancy Faust had to leave the door open because of the heat The Little Pink Guy from PrimeCo

    At Comiskey, it's time to play the Cleveland Indians again. Seems like we just saw them, but that was back at the beginning of July. I mentioned back then how I didn't like their fans, but they didn't show up to cheer their team. This time, nobody showed up to cheer either team. The place was empty - 16,622 paid. It was hot and humid. We had to drink lots of fluids to stay on top of things. The shade didn't get to us until 2 o'clock, which is at least earlier than in June/July when it's 3 o'clock. Anyway, Carlos Lee had a home run, but that was it for the team - Sox lose 4-2. Sad. Jon Garland didn't look too good, not like the complete game shutout I saw him pitch a few weeks ago.

    The new "bowl" rises out of Soldier Field It's just not right seeing the steel rising above Soldier Field
    After the game, we went up Lake Shore Drive to Wrigleyville. I'm not getting used to seeing the construction at Soldier Field. It just doesn't look right. The seating "bowl" is huge. It looks pretty damn awkward, sort of out of place. Anyway, we went to pickup our buddy Barry. We met Buffy up in Evanston to go to the Evanston Century 12 to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding. What an absolute fun flick! A Must see! The other cool thing is that it was only made for about $5 Million, and it was the 2nd highest grossing film this weekend! I didn't know it was filmed in Chicago.

    Outside the Davis Street Fishmarket Inside the Davis Street Fishmarket
    After the movie, we went to the Davis Street Fishmarket. OK, this was a delight (I'm starting to sound like James Lipton...). I really loved this place. Loved the service, loved the food. Our girls got roses on the way in (have no idea why). Need to go back again. Highly recommended. Between the movie and dinner, it was a great evening. When we got home and picked-up the mail, we noticed we got out check from White Sox Charities! Thank ou again, Elvis! Except for the Sox losing, it really was a great day.

    posted at 09:39 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, September 06, 2002

    The Isotopes

    Albuquerque Isotopes
    Do you remember an episode of The Simpsons from March 4, 2001 called "Hungry Hungry Homer"? Homer discovers that the owner of the Springfield Isotopes baseball team has a secret plan to move the team to Albuquerque. Now, in reality. Albuquerque doesn't have a baseball team. Well, they did - the Triple-A Dukes skipped town about about three years ago to go to Portland. Starting next year, however, the Calgary Cannons, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Florida Marlins, is moving to New Mexico to become - you guessed it - the Albuquerque Isotopes! (I wonder if they'll sell Duff beer...)

    posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Baseball § |
    Confused dog

    Garcie and Indy checking each other out
    Trying to watch the White Sox game tonight. Gracie and Indy are checking each other out - both of them really want to play with each other, not realizing how bad of an idea that really is. Gracie actually has been a good dog this week. Indy has only been out about 2 hours this week, so she's a little frantic. Tomorrow, Carol and I drop off Gracie at my parents' house on the way to the White Sox - Indians game. Diane will finally be back from her road trip out west on Monday, and she'll pick up Chelsea and Gracie when back in town. (Diane should be at Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Teton National Park tonight, if she's still on schedule.)

    posted at 09:24 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Saturday, August 31, 2002

    Season Ticket Party

    Lots of dads and kids playing catch in the outfield That turf is AMAZING... Throwing in the White Sox bullpen Relief Pitcher Kelly Wunsch's name on the bullpen fence Visitor's locker room at Comiskey Scouting on Sox pitcher Jim Parque
    After tense moments of not speaking for what seems like hours, Carol and I drove to Riverside to pick up Janie & Gary and go to the annual White Sox Season Ticket Holder party. Nothing new, same old stuff. The only plus is being able to walk on the field. Roger Bossard has taken such good care of that grass - I heard recently that no weeds can grow in there because the turf is so think that a weed can't root. It's wonderful. Drove right back home afterward (quietly) and just sacked out for a while.

    Oh, an interesting thing in the visitor's clubhouse: In the coaches' room, there's a whiteboard that had scouting information about Monday night's game (Toronto against the Sox). Jim Parque pitched that game (only lasting 2-2/3 innings and losing 8-4). The comments on the board were accurate and brutal. The synopsis to the Toronto team: "Soft tossing LHP, below avg. stuff! Picks alot. Make him elevate, get good pitches to hit, stay focused up middle other way." Another comment on his 2-seam fastball: "81 - 83 (mph) B.P. (batting practice) Type". Ouch.

    posted at 04:49 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, August 30, 2002

    NO STRIKE!!!
    posted at 11:29 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Thursday, August 29, 2002

    Help the hitless

    This came in this morning's EMail...

    A Plea for Help!

    Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in our generation. We have banded together to overcome tremendous adversity. We have weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas, corporate scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges, droughts, fires, and myriad economic and physical disasters both great and small.

    And now, we must come together once again to overcome our greatest challenge yet. Hundreds of Major League Baseball players in our very own nation are living at, or just below the seven-figure salary level. And as if that weren't bad enough they could be deprived of their life giving pay for several months, possibly longer, as a result of the upcoming strike situation.

    But you can help!

    For only $20,835 a month, about $694.50 a day (far less than the cost of a large screen projection TV) you can help a MLB player remain economically viable during his time of need. This contribution by no means solves the problem as it barely covers the annual minimum salary, but it's a start, and every little bit will help!

    Although $700 may not seem like a lot of money to you, to a baseball player it could mean the difference between spending the strike golfing in Florida or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you, seven hundred dollars is nothing more than a month's rent, half a mortgage payment, two unemployment checks, or a month of medical insurance with COBRA; but to a baseball player, $700 will partial replace his daily salary. Your commitment of less than $700 a day will enable a player to buy that home entertainment center, trade in the year-old Lexus for a new Ferrari, or enjoy a weekend in Rio.

    HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING?

    Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real estate, and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the player lounging during the strike on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (for a signed photo, please include an additional $1,500). Put the photo on your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering.

    HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING?

    Your MLB player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.

    YES, I WANT TO HELP!

    I would like to sponsor a striking MLB player. My preference is checked below:

    [ ] Infielder [ ] Outfielder [ ] Starting Pitcher[ ] Ace Pitcher [ ] Entire team

    Please call our 900 number to ask for the cost of a specific team - $10 per minute

    [ ] Alex Rodriguez (Higher cost: $60,000 per day)

    Please charge the account listed below $694.50 per day for the player for the duration of the strike. Please send me a picture of the player I have sponsored, along with an Alex Rodriguez 2001 Income Statement and my very own Donald Fehr MLB Players Union pin to wear proudly on my hat. (Include $800 for hat).

    Your Name: _______________________

    Telephone Number: ____________________

    Account Number: _____________________ Exp.Date:_______

    [ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Discover

    Signature: _______________________

    Alternate card (when the primary card exceeds its credit limit):

    Account Number: _____________________Exp.Date:_______

    [ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Discover

    Signature: _______________________

    Mail completed form to MLB Players Union now.

    To enroll by phone call 900-555-BALL ($10 per minute).

    Disclaimer: Sponsors are not permitted to contact the player they have sponsored, either in person or by other means including, but not limited to, telephone calls, letters, e-mail, or third parties. Contributions are not tax-deductible.

    posted at 09:47 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Wednesday, August 28, 2002

    White Sox 8 - Blue Jays 0

    Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays Not much of a crowd - 12,972 Joe Crede warming up on deck A whole group of scouts watching the players A scout using a radar gun on John Garland's pitches Magglio Ordonez's 2nd home run of the game Jon Garland pitched a complete game shutout Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe... I think... Sox win 8-0 The concourse empties out after the game - sort of The empty park. Was this the last game?
    What an absolutely gorgeous day for a baseball game. I am so happy that I decided to go. Of course, I look like a lobster right now. At least the sunburn isn't hurting - yet. Not much of a crowd - 12,972. Saw something I have never seen before, but it's probably because I don't normally sit behind the plate - there was a bunch of scouts with radar guns watching Jon Garland and the Toronto relief pitcher Brian Bowles. I know that one of them had a Cubs logo on his polo shirt. Carlos Lee had a home run, and Magglio Ordonez had two home runs. I think I saw former Negro League's pitcher/catcher Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe sitting at the top of my section. I saw him throw out the first pitch on his 100th birthday last month, and I've seen him on TV, sitting in the same location. Anyway, Sox win 8-0. Jon Garland pitched a complete game shutout.

    After the game, people didn't leave. They just slowly left, lingering in the seats, lingering on the concourse. These were the people that just didn't belive that this could possibly be the last game of the year if the players strike on Friday. The customer service reps weren't chasing anybody out either. It's as if they understood as well. I just hung out for a while and watch them shut things down. Then I slowly walked down the ramps to my car. I hope the idiots that are negotiating understand what a strike will do to the game. I'm worried.

    And like I've said before, it's screwing up my clock.

    posted at 05:04 PM | Link | White Sox § |
    Blog to go

    Well, I'm at Comiskey, posting via WAP from my phone. I was able to get a seat behind the plate. Looks like a small crowd, but it's still a half an hour before game time. Will this be the last home game?

    posted at 12:29 PM | Link | Blogging § |

    Sunday, August 25, 2002

    White Sox 8 - Devil Rays 3

    Chicago White Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays The lines for autographs are long Infielder Joe Crede and Coach Gary Pettis Outfielder Aaron Rowand, Infielder Willie Harris and Pitcher Damaso Marte Coach Gary Ward, Catcher Mark Johnson, and Pitcher Rocky Biddle Infielder Jose Valentin and Outfielder Carlos Lee Willy Wonka The whole team huddles around Tony Graffanino after his injury Another disgruntled fan
    Back at Comiskey for what may be our last game of the season (if there's a strike Friday). (Three days watching Tampa Bay was too much, so we gave away our tickets for yesterday). It was one of the Willy Wonka Kid's day promotions. One of the big things is that the entire team is available for half an hour before the game for autographs. Two or three players station themselves at the bottom of a section and people just line-up and get stuff autographed. The team does this about once a month. Oh, and kids 13 and under pay $1 to get in (day of game only) and they can run the bases (weather permitting) after the game. It's a good promotion, and does bring out the families. The game started out shaky. Tony Graffanino went down in the outfield after backup up a play. He heard something "pop", and the game ground to a halt. he was able to walk off the field after a while, but he was put on the DL. Ouch. Sox win 8-3. I know know how lucky I was on Friday to win the Sox Split Charity Raffle. Friday's pot (that I won) was $3,585, yesterday's was $2,146, today's was $1,643.

    posted at 09:37 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, August 23, 2002

    Thank you. Thank you very much...

    Chicago White Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays Elvis entertainment at Gate 5 Watching an Elvis entertain outside the park Elvis entertainment at Gate 4 Part of the crowd outside Gate 4 Elvis entertainment at Gate 3 The "Shrine" this year wasn't very impressive - probably due to security this year The E-Team flys-in the American Flag during the National Anthem Rob, Peggy and Madison Janie seems to be getting a bit bored during the game HEY! I WON THE SOX SPLIT CHARITY RAFFLE! The Steppin' Out Dads start the after-game festivities Shawn Klush performing after the game Fireworks sponsored by Miller Lite... not enough wind... That's me and Kathy at my surprise 30th birthday party back in January 1987

    THANK YOU ELVIS!!!!!

    We were back at Comiskey Park tonight for what is always the strangest promotion night of the year- Elvis Night. Tons of Elvis impersonators - both professional and wanna be. There were three stages outside the park with impersonators performing. At least 5% of the people appear to be wearing Elvis-style sunglasses - with fake sideburns. Before the game, The E-Team - The Elvises of the Sky flew in the American Flag. (I was bummed - the weather was pretty weird and they couldn't jump after the game. They wear electric lighted jumpsuits, just like the Flying Elvises in the movie Honeymoon in Vegas.) The National Anthem was sung by impersonator Rick Saucedo. The only reason that I bring that up is a bit convoluted and "off topic" - over 20 years ago, we went to see a magician (who was a relation to our friend Teri) who was opening for Rick Saucedo. Teri brought her friend Kathy, and we went with my long-time friend Rick. They sort of "hooked-up" that night, got married, had 4 kids, and are still together. And to top it off, Kathy stumbled onto my website this past week (Hi, Kathy!). I'm going to have to find an old picture of us to put with this entry...

    Anyway, during the game, there's Elvis trivia on the scoreboard. Some people perform in between some of the innings from on top of the dugouts.

    The last time I saw my friend Peggy was two years ago, At Comiskey, on Elvis Night. Tonight, she was back with her husband Rob and daughter Maddie. It was absolutely great seeing them again. I knew they were at the game and went to visit them out in the bleachers. We sat around and talked and ate for an inning or so. Then they came over and visited us (our seats were along the third base side, pretty far down the line).

    The weather is oppressive - it's not hot, it's in the low 70's, but the humidity is 94% and there's barely a wind. If feels stifling.

    After the game, the Steppin' Out Dads do a little routine, then Shawn Klush ( a good impersonator) does a concert behind home plate. The E-Team was supposed to do their jump but FAA regs wouldn't let them. The night end with fireworks sponsored by Miller Lite.

    Now, let's flash back a few innings... the White Sox have a charity raffle called Sox Split during the weekend games. Basically, you buy a ticket. The winner gets half the pot with the other half going to White Sox Charities. We actually won $804 back on June 28, 1998. Carol and I are both gamblers, so we always buy Split tickets when we go to the game. You never know.

    Guess what? Yep, WE WON AGAIN. WE WON $3,585 !!!!! Thank you White Sox! Thank you Elvis!

    Oh, the game? Sox lost 8-2. Against Tampa Bay. Against Tanyon Sturtze, who was 2-13 before the game and wound up pitching a complete game! We suck. One cool thing - Joe Crede hit the 1,000 home run by a White Sox player in new Comiskey Park (Frank Thomas was the first against Baltimore on April 22, 1991).

    posted at 11:27 PM | Link | White Sox | 2 comments § |

    Tuesday, August 20, 2002

    Schaumburg Flyers

    Went to that Schaumburg Flyers game tonight with Carol's company. After this afternoon, I didn't expect to have a good time, but I did. My absolute best memories of when I was a kid was going to White Sox games with my dad. So sitting in a ballpark tonight was way more therapeutic than I thought.

    posted at 08:55 PM | Link | Flyers § |

    Friday, August 16, 2002

    They set a date...

    STRIKE DATE - AUGUST 30, 2002
    Bastards... Damn them all... they're gonna kill baseball if they can't get together... bastards...

    posted at 11:32 AM | Link | Baseball | 1 comment § |

    Sunday, August 11, 2002

    White Sox 6 - Mariners 5

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners Today's promotion: Minnie Minoso Bobblehead Dolls The newly unveiled logo for the 2003 All Star Game at Comiskey next July 15 All Star Game merchanise on display at the Hall Of Fame Gift Shop The shower is getting a workout... and coverage WARNING! Cover your ears if you see this man!
    Back at Comiskey - game time temperature was 90°. It felt hotter yesterday, but in either case, too damn hot to sit out in the sun. But, nonetheless, that's where we were for the second day in the row. The game was better than yesterday, though. Joe Crede got his first Major League home run. Former Sox James Baldwin, facing his former team for the first time, only lasted 2 2/3 innings. Sox win 6-5.

    posted at 10:16 AM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, August 10, 2002

    White Sox 3 - Mariners 7

    Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners Today's promotion: Travel mugs from SBC Disclaimer on the side of today's promo mugs A young Ichiro fan A dad pointing out Ichiro in right field to his son Ichiro in right field Part of the Japanese press contigent More Ichiro fans taking a smoking break
    Back at Comiskey again. I hate Fox games - they start earlier and the breaks in between innings for commercials just makes for a long day. The Ichiro bandwagon rolled into town, and the place with crowded, mostly with his fans, not only Japanese-American but Japanese-Japanese! He has a very large and loyal following, and it's very interesting to watch. I've bitched and moaned about other team's fans coming to the park and being arrogant. these fans are nothing like that. Polite but boisterous. You can't help but be respectful of that. It's always something to see. Last year was the first time we witnessed this - and it was just so interesting. It was amazing how many people had come to the park with bento boxes and coolers, eating sushi (which is just something you don't see around Comiskey). It was a night game last year and there were many more Japanese-lettered signed than this year.

    Anyway, the game was great... for 6 innings. Jon Garland was fine, with a 3-0 lead in the seventh and then he was left in just a little too long. We wound up losing 7-3. Frank Thomas, as usual, did nothing for us, going 0-4. He can't do anything in a clutch. I'm not happy with him.

    Pepper bothering Gary (that's Carol way on the right)
    After the game, we went over to Janie & Gary's for the annual "Chicken Burn" - the title refers to what Gary does to the food on the grill. It's usually the group of people that sit around us at the game, but due to conflicts, it was just the four of us. Gary didn't burn the chicken, and it was a very nice night, just sitting around and talking.

    posted at 10:16 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, August 03, 2002

    Arlington Park

    Empty stands before the start of today's races Betting area inside Arlington The automated machines seem to be very popular The horses leave the paddock area A good crowd for today's races Sigh... another loser Irish dancers for today's Irish Fest Trumpeting the horses to the track The start of the 8th race
    Well, I'm back from Arlington Park. I love the facility, but I had a bad day. Only won one bet (though I didn't bet a lot of the races, and left after the 8th). Good crowd. Lots of kids, though. I think too many. I felt that I wasn't prepared, even though I downloaded a bunch of stuff from Equibase. I just wasn't motivated to use the information, so... shame on me. I guess I just want output from handicapping software instead of pouring over statistics and charts.

    posted at 05:09 PM | Link | Horse Racing § |

    Wednesday, July 31, 2002

    One less pitcher

    Chicago White Sox
    The Fire Sale continues... though I didn't see this one coming. The Chicago White Sox have acquired minor league pitchers Frankie Francisco and Byeong Hak An from Boston in exchange for right-hander Bob Howry and cash considerations. They're sending both new guys to Class A Winston-Salem. OK, I don't like this move, but boy we're sure stockpiling pitchers throughout the farm system. Thank God the trade deadline has passed (4pm ET today for players to be traded without going through the waiver process).

    posted at 06:48 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Monday, July 29, 2002

    One less catcher

    Chicago White Sox
    Can you say "Fire Sale!!!"??? Thursday, the White Sox traded away Ray Durham to Oakland. Yesterday, they traded away Kenny Lofton to the Giants. Today, the Sox are in Cooperstown to play in the Hall of Fame exhibition game against the Rockies. So, while they were there, they traded Sandy Alomar Jr. to the Rockies for minor league pitcher Enemencio Pacheco. Let's see... three veterans for: RHP Jon Adkins Class Triple-A Sacramento, LHP Ryan Meaux Class A Hagerstown, RHP Felix Diaz Class AA Shreveport, RHP Enemencio Pacheco Class A Salem. We get 2 Class A's, a Class AA, and a Class AAA. Jeez. I heard that Joe Crede is getting called-up, which may mean that they may be trying to move Jose Valentin or Royce Clayton. Great. Josh Paul gets called-up to take Sandy's place.

    posted at 03:38 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, July 28, 2002

    White Sox 4 - Royals 2

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals Today's promotion: Carton Fisk bobblehead dolls sponsored by Dominick's and Pepsi Something Sox fans don't see - long lines two hours before the game Janie poses with her Pudge bobblehead Keeping cool in the Stadium Club
    It was going to be a hot one today, and it's back to Comiskey. I mean hot, like reports of a heat index around 105. We have to get to Comiskey early today, because of the giveaway - Carlton Fisk Bobblehead Dolls. Bobbleheads always draw fans to the park and sure enough today was no exception. Two hours before the game the parking lots are almost full and there are lines all around the outside of the park. We had called Janie and had her meet us outside the Stadium Club entrance - we were not going to kill ourselves sitting outside, so it was definitely a day to stay cool in the Club. The disadvantage of being there is that it's hard to keep track of the game - it's noisy, smokey and you just feel "disconnected". After the game, I looked up at the scoreboard and saw a graphic that I don't ever remember seeing - animation of a broom sweeping. Yes, the Sox had swept the series against the Royals 4-2. Nothing really special happened during the game. Sometime after the game, the Sox traded Kenny Lofton to the Giants for minor league pitchers Felix Diaz and Ryan Meaux. So, the fire sale continues...

    posted at 09:42 PM | Link | White Sox | 2 comments § |

    Saturday, July 27, 2002

    White Sox 9 - Royals 1

    Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals The happy couple George and Becky The bridal party taking pictures at the top of the section Congratulations on the scoreboard A hot night at the ballpark Tonight's promotion: Fireworks sponsored by Miller Lite
    Driving to Comiskey today was rough - there was a ton of traffic because of Venetian Night at the lakefront. It was a hot night - game time temperature was 90°, but the official box score said 84°. After the bottom of the first inning, we're sitting in our seats and we head this hearing and applause coming from the top of the next section over. We turn around to see... a bride and groom walking down the aisle! Their whole bridal party was there, parents, everybody. The bride still had her bouquet, but even though the groom was in his tux, it was topped-off with a Sox baseball cap. Then, in true baseball fan form, the groom sat down next to someone in the next section so that he could fill out his scorecard for the plays he missed in the first inning!!! The game wound-up being a blowout - the Sox won 9-1 over the Royals. Magglio Ordonez had 2 homeruns, Tony Graffanino and Aaron Rowand each had a homerun, and Carlos Lee had 2 doubles. It was our first time seeing Willie Harris. He didn't do much tonight (1 for 4 and an error). But ever since he joined the team, they're doing well (they won 10-2 last night). Coincidence?

    posted at 11:41 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, July 25, 2002

    One less second baseman

    Ray Durham on Fuji Film Photo Day - May 26, 2002
    Nooooooooo!!!!! The White Sox traded Ray Durham to Oakland (along with cash!) for minor league pitcher Jon Adkins. They called-up Willie Harris to replace Ray-Ray. Damn. Sounds like GM Kenny Williams is starting to throw in the towel. Ray had the second-longest tenure with the Sox.

    posted at 08:44 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, July 24, 2002

    There's crying in baseball

    Sad. One of the Rockford Peaches, Mildred "Millie'' Deegan, died. If the team sounds familiar, it's because of the 1992 movie "A League of Their Own.''

    posted at 11:09 AM | Link | Baseball § |

    Tuesday, July 23, 2002

    Penalty Box Police baseball

    Alexian Field - home of the Schaumburg Flyers The view from behind the plate View from the 3rd Base side The Flyer's mascot Bearon signing autographs Tonight's promotion: Logo baseballs sponsored by Chipotle Part of the Penalty Box Police group at the game A plane landing at Shaumburg Airport passes over the field Hardly anybody stayed to watch the last at-bat Closing up Alexian Field after the game
    Tonight, Carol & I went to the Schaumburg Flyers game with a whole bunch of "Penalty Box Police" friends from the Chicago Wolves games. The park is just a few miles from the house, so it's easy to get there (it also shares the Metra train station parking lot). the Flyers are part of the independent Northern League (which means there's no affiliation with Major League Baseball). The Flyers lost to the Joliet Jackhammers 9-3. It was a long, boring game. The Flyers stank. Period. It was cool, though, to see a certain rookie pitch - Tommy John III - grandson of Tommy John. Cool. The Jackhammer's manager/DH was Matt Nokes, who played for the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees. Other than that, a bunch of no names going nowhere. They just love to play the game. The crowd was somewhat small - 4,168. Hardly anybody stayed until the end - the Flyers were just getting whipped and the game was a bit long (3:12). The first 3 innings took about and hour and 10 minutes. But, it was a nice facility and it was fun seeing the Wolves gang again. We'll be going to another game next month with people from Carol's work. Hopefully it'll have a better outcome. (Box score)

    posted at 10:41 PM | Link | Flyers § |

    Wednesday, July 17, 2002

    I wasn't even there

    The dead ivy at Wrigley Field. (Chicago Tribune photo by Charles Cherney)
    OK, I swear I wasn't there... It seems that the ivy at Wrigley Field is dying. Yes, I am anti-Cubs, but there's no way anybody should have done this. It's not right - the ivy at Wrigley is almost a sacred thing in the baseball universe. You don't touch it, you don't mess with it. There is speculation that a White Sox fan did this during the Cubs-Sox series there last month. I hope that's not the case - I wouldn't want to be associated with them.

    posted at 11:59 PM | Link | Cubs § |

    Sunday, July 14, 2002

    ROAD TRIP!

    Janie, Jeff, and Gary on our flight to Detroit Ah... the way I like my flights - Empty! A Southwest jet trying to cut in front of us Look! Midway! (MDW) Look! Detroit! (DTW)
    Carol and I get up early, drive to Riverside to pickup Janie & Gary, and then it's off to Midway Airport, where we meet Jeff and we're on our way to Detroit. I've never flown on Southwest before, and getting an "A" boarding pass, I'm told, is good, but it doesn't matter - plane is empty. The flight is really short - just barely enough time for the complimentary juice & coffee service. The Detroit airport (DTW) is... well, let's just say, now that Midway has started it's remodeling, this airport is the pits. We get on the Hertz shuttle to get our Crown Vic and drive into the city.

    A main entrance at Comerica Park Gary, Janie and Jeff outside Comerica Park Unusual gargoyles on the outside of the ballpark The back of the scoreboard at Comerica Park
    Finding Comerica Park was actually a bit difficult - you can't see it from a distance. Heck, you can't see it a block or two away. It's tucked into a small area downtown. We got to the park pretty early - somehow we lost sight of the fact that the game started at 2:05 (we thought 1:05). So, we slowly walked around the outside of the park to see what it looked like.

    The exclusive Tiger Den seating area above the Infield Box seats The view from the left centerfield seats at Comerica Park The exclusive Tiger Club in right field The scoreboard at Comerica Park - currently the largest one in the majors One of the tigers on top of the Comerica Park scoreboard Sculptures on the concourse along the left centerfield wall Tigers "Walk of Fame" along the concourse at Comerica Park Big Cat Court, a food court at Comerica Park The Big Cat Court food court from above The tigers on the carousel at the Big Cat Court View of the field at Comerica Park from the upper deck The Brushfire Grill picnic area and 50-foot ferris wheel
    We went in as soon as the gates opened, and proceeded to walk around the park. The food selection was a bit pitiful. It wasn't until later did I find the better food at "Big Cat Court", and that made things better, but within the normal stands it was a bit plain & boring (though I had a Kielbasa that was very tasty).

    Carol cooling-off in Tigers Den seats behind our "real" seats Our group at the park - Gary, his sister Marty & husband Harry, and Janie & Jeff
    Our seats were 28 rows behind the plate - great view, but in the sun all through the game. This caused a major problem for Carol, who got what seems to be minor heatstroke even before the game started. She had to sit in a different area in the shade and we had to help her out with wet towels, lots of water, and some ice cream to help her cool down. She was better by about the 4th inning, but we kept in the shade for the whole game.

    View from behind our seats at Comerica Park Carlos Lee swinging away
    The game itself was OK. It looked like the Sox were going to lose again, but Carlos Lee had two homeruns, and then Jose Valentin hit a triple in the eighth that scored two and then scored himself when the throw to third went wild (sort of an in-the-park homerun, but not really). Sox win 6-4.

    Pegasus and the Greektown Casino
    After the game, we walked (!) over to Greektown to have dinner at Pegasus. Well, I wasn't hungry after being out there all day, so Jeff and I took a walk through the Greektown Casino while the others ate dinner. It was weird being in Detroit and being in a land-based casino. It was a nice place, two floors - larger than I thought it would be. Sunday afternoon, almost every single table game we saw were $10 tables. I think we saw one $15 table.

    Janie going down I-94 to the airport Waiting for a gate at Midway
    Back to the restaurant, the group finished up, and then it was off to the airport. This time we all got "B" boarding passes - not a good omen. Sure enough, the flight home was packed. We got in 10 minutes early, and had to wait 20 minutes for a gate. Then we drove Jeff home, drove Janie & Gary home, and finally drove home ourselves. A very long day. Would we do it again? You bet!

    posted at 10:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Tuesday, July 09, 2002

    Suspend the All-Star Game?!?!?

    2002 MLB All-Star Game
    Wha....???? They suspended the All Star Game after 11 innings in a 7-7 tie because they used all their players - both bullpens and benches were empty. The fans first booed the announcement when it was made at the beginning of the bottom of the 11th. After a while they all started chanting "Let them play! Let them play! Let them play!..." I mean, the fans showed up and paid good coin for this game - they should allow players to be "reused" since it's an exhibition game. Thank you, Bud Selig. Nice way to treat your hometown fans. And wait... no MVP??? Nice way to screwup a game.

    posted at 11:36 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Sunday, July 07, 2002

    White Sox 3 - Indians 9

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe is wheeled-out by Harold Baines to throw out the first pitch on his 100th birthday!
    Back at Comiskey, and there's something cool before the game. Former Negro League's pitcher/catcher Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who was in a wheelchair, was brought out onto the field by Harold Baines. "Double-Duty" stood up, out of his wheelchair, and threw out the first pitch! Today was his 100th Birthday! He threw the pitch to one of the guys he used to manage - Buck O'Neill - who's 90 years old! How cool is that? It turns out, he always goes to Sox games. I need to see if I can find him the next time I'm at Comiskey. I saw a clip about him on TV when I got home - he's still very sharp. I think that it's great to have somebody from that era still around.

    Oh, the game? Ew. Sox lost 9-3. Todd Ritchie, who is now 5-11 with a 5.82 ERA in 19 games and 108.1 IP, gave up a grand slam among his 6 earned runs. Yeah, that trade for Ritchie is working real well. Let's see - we got Ritchie for Kip Wells - 9-6 3.41 ERA in 18 games and 108.1 IP, Sean Lowe - 2-2 5.54 ERA in 31 games and 52.0 IP, and Josh Fogg - 9-6 3.56 ERA in 17 games and 103.2 IP. I don't know, but to me it looks like we got the wrong end of that deal for this season.

    posted at 05:01 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, July 06, 2002

    White Sox 7 - Indians 3

    Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Today's promotion: Dog Tags from Mountain Dew Mmmmm... Hot Dogs, Polish, and onions... mmmmm... Bull riding in center field for White Sox Extreme Day Snap! Crackle! Pop! - Part of Kellogg's Kids Week Getting a beer from "The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal" player Lisa
    What a gorgeous day! It never did rain. There were some clouds for a while, but it turned into something pretty nice. Back at Comiskey for a series against the Cleveland Indians. This used to be the one series we used to loathe to go to. When Jacobs Field opened in Cleveland, the games were always sold out. The Sox took out ads in the Cleveland papers to invite people who couldn't get tickets at "The Jake" to come to Comiskey. Well, it filled the place, but God it was awful to sit there with all these Cleveland fans, who just about out-numbered the Sox fans. those days are gone - The Jake is no longer sold out, Cleveland is not in the pennant race and is trading top players, and now Comiskey is not filled with their fans. What a nice day! Game time temperature - 81 degrees. Interesting confluence of promotions today - Kellogg's Kids Week and Extreme Day sponsored by Mountain Dew with rock climbing walls, mechanical bulls, bikes, skateboards... The game was good, too, a nice close give-and-take game (the kind I like). Sox won 7-3.

    Merle's Smokehouse in Evanston
    After the game, we drove up Lake Shore Drive to Barry & Buffy's (another glorious ride up the drive on a gorgeous day). We decided to do a movie and dinner, so we drove back up to Evanston, to the Evanston Century 12 to see The Bourne Identity. Wow. good flick. Great car chase... in a Cooper Mini!!! (I'd love to get one of those cars). After the movie, we walked over to Merle's Smokehouse for some barbecue. Hey, I was surprised - this was good food and we had great service as well. You know, even though I feel like I'm living in my car the last few days, I really enjoyed today.

    posted at 10:32 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, June 30, 2002

    White Sox 2 - Cubs 9

    Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs Souvenir stands in the parking lot White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel during batting practice Who's on First, What's on Second, I Don't Know is on Third...
    Back at Comiskey. Hot. No, HOT! Game time temperature - 91°. Heat index 103°. Oh, this is bad. On top of that, we've got too many Sox fans getting cocky and bringing brooms into the park, hoping for a sweep in the series. And now there's way too many Cubs fans here today, and they're the mean, venomous ones that I always hate coming into my ballpark. Sure enough, Sox lose 9-2 (but, I have to hand it to Matt Clement - he pitched a great game). Sure enough, security is very active today and there are fights in the stands at the top of our section. Time to leave early to go to my parents for dinner. Too hot, too ugly.

    posted at 08:43 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 29, 2002

    White Sox 5 - Cubs 4

    Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs A rarity - Sold Out at Comiskey Sammy Sosa getting stretched A popular t-shirt at the park Sox players' wives at the raffle table The shower in left field was getting a workout
    Back to Comiskey Park for a weekend series that I always dread - Interleague play against the Chicago Cubs. The game was sold out months ago. It's gong to be hot. It's not going to be fun. I mean, let's face it, both Chicago baseball teams suck right now. Game time is 12:15 for Fox. The parking lot opened 4 hours before game time to accommodate all those tailgaters that can't tailgate at Wrigley since there are no parking lots up there (all the lots that exist are "private"). Gate opened 2 hours before, and that's when we got there. We were successful in avoiding traffic and crowds, but we get inside the park... and there's no batting practice. Great. Nice PR move. get everybody there early and bore them to death. Great. The park fills just before first pitch. It's hot, but fortunately cooler near the lake - 86° at game time (it's going to be hotter tomorrow). The sun is a scorcher. The bottle water vendors are plunging their hands into the ice water that they're carrying and shaking their hands over the crowd to help lure them to buy more water. It's like they're baptizing the fans. Somehow, during the course of the game, there's a healthy give-and-take on the field and even in the stands. The Cubs fans that are here are good, and the Sox fans are on their good behavior around us. It turns out being a great day. It turns out to be the second-highest attendance ever at New Comiskey - 45,942 (yesterday, the first game in the series, was the highest ever - 46,027). Sox Win 5-4. A good day.

    Barry loading up the pork chops Talking baseball over the fence with Kenny Debbie, Buffy, and Carol
    After the game, it's off to Barry & Buffy's to have a nice barbecue with Debbie. We leave the park, head east to Lake Shore Drive and head north. What a gorgeous day at the lake. People - believe me when I say this - driving north on Lake Shore Drive today reminds me of how beautiful this town is and why I live here. The new "bowl" is starting to take shape above the south rim of Soldier Field. Buckingham fountain looks great, Grant Park is full of people thanks to Taste of Chicago. Tons of people jogging on the bicycle path or riding their bikes... WAIT!!! HEY!!!... THAT WAS DICK BUTKUS THAT JUST DROVE BY ON HIS BICYCLE!!! OK, This is a great Chicago day! Had a nice dinner with B&B and Debbie - Barry grilled-up some pork chops on the grill. It was a very long day, but it felt like a good day.

    posted at 11:28 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, June 22, 2002

    Darryl Kile

    Associated Press photo of Darryl Kile
    OK, those of you know me, know that I'm a White Sox fan, and not a Cubs fan. What's more important, I'm a baseball fan. This is just absolutely shocking. I'm watching channel 32 - the local Fox affiliate in Chicago to pass the time and watch the Cubs-Cardinals game. Except - it's not on. It's been cancelled - St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in his hotel room at the Westin Chicago this morning. He was supposed to start tomorrow. In an sad twist, Joe Buck who had eulogized his dad Jack Buck just yesterday made the announcement on Fox. Cubs catcher Joe Girardi came out to address the packed Wrigley Field crowd to announce the cancellation with a catch in his voice and the whole Cubs team behind him, all dressed in their home whites. "Excuse me. Thank you for your patience. We regret to inform you that because of a tragedy in the Cardinals family, that the commissioner has cancelled the game today". He also asked the crowd to "Please be respectful, you will eventually find out what happened. And please say a prayer for the St. Louis Cardinal family." How much tragedy can the St. Louis baseball family take?

    posted at 02:39 PM | Link | Baseball § |
    Kari Lehtonen

    Atlanta Thrashers Chicago Wolves Greenville Grrrowl
    The NHL 2002 Entry Draft was today and I think I know who we may be seeing in net for the Chicago Wolves sometime next year (or at least passing through to/from the Greenville). The Atlanta Thrashers had the second pick overall in the draft and picked Kari Lehtonen, a 6' 3" 18 year-old From Helsinki. Hes was the youngest goaltender in the top Finnish league (Finnish Division I) this season, helping Jokerit capture the league championship with a 1.78 GAA and a .940 save % in 11 games to capture league MVP honors for the post-season. He's also the highest pick for a European goaltender in the history of the NHL.

    posted at 01:50 PM | Link | Hockey § |

    Saturday, June 08, 2002

    White Sox 1 - Expos 2

    Chicago White Sox Montreal Expos Jeff and Janie, freshly back from her African Safari Hmmm... seems like it's not dark enough for fireworks... Tonight's Promotion: Fireworks sponsored by E & M Finer Foods
    Back to Comiskey Park. Tonight, Barry is with me - Carol was at my cousin Jane's surprise Bridal Shower this afternoon at Cog Hill. First thing we did was to go upstairs to the Stadium Club to watch the Belmont Stakes. It was 70-1 long shot Sarava the winner (a record $142.50 for a $2 bet) - War Emblem didn't get the Triple Crown, finishing 8th (but was in first for a while, after stumbling out of the gate).

    Anyway, it's Interleague time again, or as Carol calls it - cross-pollination. The first inning starts good - 3 up/3 down. Then we're up. Kenny Lofton triples to right (Vladimir Guerrero dove to his left and didn't come up with the ball, and Kenny just kept chugging). Ray Durham sacrificed to deep right and scores Lofton. OK, Good start. Frank Thomas strikes out - nothing new. Magglio Ordonez singles to right, Jose Valentin singles to right, Carlos Lee walks. BASES LOADED, Jeff Liefer steps to the plate. What the hell is he doing in the game? Where's Paul Konerko? Must be a lefty-righty thing. Sure enough - strike out. That summarizes what the Sox have been doing for the last month. It looked like we would get to Tomo Ohka, but it never happened. Jon Garland looked pretty good - retiring the first 12 batters. Expos tied it in the 5th. Both teams struggle the rest of the game, trying to do anything. Keith Foulke come in to pitch the 9th. First pitch to Vladimir Guerrero - home run. Thank you, Keith Foulke. He's caused more pain than good for the Sox lately. Bottom of the 9th, Frank Thomas flies out then Magglio Ordonez walks on 4 pitches. OK, we have a baserunner. On the first pitch, Jose Valentin hits into a double play. It's over. Ordonez, again, made no attempt to break it up, like I said during the Yankee game.

    WE SUCK.

    posted at 10:32 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, June 06, 2002

    Whole lotta cups

    Atlanta Thrashers 2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves 2002 ECHL Kelly Cup Greenville Grrrowl
    This is weird - something happened and I didn't even know about it. Not a big deal, it's just a sports thing. The Chicago Wolves are the AHL affiliate of the NHL Atlanta Thrashers. There is another affiliate of the Wolves, the Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL. I never paid much attention to them - I just knew that they existed and that if there was a young player that needed more development, the Wolves would send him to the Grrrowl. Well, back on May 10, Greenville won the ECHL 2002 Kelly Cup. So, the Grrrowl won the Kelly Cup, the Wolves won the Calder Cup, and the Thrashers finish the year 19-47-11 in last place in the Eastern Conference, and worst in the NHL. I wonder how the call-ups are going to be next year?

    posted at 11:44 AM | Link | Hockey § |

    Monday, June 03, 2002

    Chicago Wolves 2002 Calder Cup Champions

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Bridgeport Sound Tigers
    Carol and Joe Laura and Joey Lasers, spotlights, fireworks... must be the opening Bob running through the crowd, dispensing High Fives The guys waiting for the period to start Getting ready for the puck drop Carol and Chelby A young fan with a mock Calder Cup Chelby's Mom Carolyn and Edwin Nicole - on duty making the aisles safe Joe talking to Carol - and apparently ignoring his girlfriend A dejected Bob going into the 3rd Period tied 3-3 15,132 fans creating noise to help boost the team The Chicago Wolves win the 2002 Calder Cup Chris ringing her bell after the win John waving Ricky's sign after the win The Wolves celebrating after the win Part of the Penalty Box Police gang - Erin & Scott (foreground) and Chris, Bob and Brad The team and management posing for a group picture with the Calder Cup
    Let me start by saying - I'm glad I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to get back on my blood pressure medication! The crowd was even louder, up from 5,022 Thursday and 9,115 Friday to 15,132, the second largest in the 66-year history of the AHL. Steve Maltais get's two goals in the first period only 2:15 apart. It feels good. In the second period, Malts gets another goal for the hat trick. Ooo, this is feeling good. Then Bridgeport scores a goal. And then another. And then another. Crap - it's the end on two periods and it's all tied 3-3. The officials start letting the players go - the penalties are stopping and the crowd is going nuts. Third period - no penalties, also no scoring. We go into overtime, and then something ugly happens. No one sees it because it happens behind the play, but Dallas Eakins is laying flat on his back with his arms outstretched, not moving at all. AT ALL. And Nobody sees him in the corner. NOBODY. The officials never blow the whistle, no team member comes over, play is at the other end of the ice. Pasi doesn't even go over to him. The crowd goes nuts. THEN the whistle blows, and Bridgeport's trainer is first to Dallas with other Wolves team members. The place goes quiet. the team doctors come up the tunnel. Next thing we know, Dallas is up and going back to the bench! No penalties were called. In fact, again, no penalties that period. No scoring that period either! We go into the second overtime. Then, at 2:05 into the second overtime, Yuri Butsayev scores the winning goal and the Wolves win the Calder Cup during their first year in the league. Well, the place went up for grabs at that point. I've never seen so much hugging and high-fives amongst the fans before. The team is going nuts on the ice. Then, of course, the obligatory handshakes. And then the red carpet gets rolled out, a table setup, and the trophies are walked out. Pasi Nurminen is awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Calder Cup Playoffs' most valuable player. The Calder Cup is then presented to the team captain, Steve Maltais. Then the streamers and confetti rain down, Queen's "We Are The Champions" starts playing, and the team takes turns, passing the cup around player to player to allow them to skate part of a victory lap around the ice and show the fans.

    Yes, I know it's only a minor league team, but in a town like Chicago, you grab what you can. And having a cup is, as Martha would say, a "good thing."
    (Boxscore)

    posted at 11:49 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Friday, May 31, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Sound Tigers 2

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Bridgeport Sound Tigers Pregame fireworks during the video presentation Player introductions before the game Wayne & Kathy sing the National Anthem The crowd goes nuts to help energize the boys Bob gives high fives to the crowd as it erupts after the final empty net goal
    Back for Game 4 at the Allstate Arena. Bridgeport scored first tonight, and it was just a real flat game. A lot of tickey-tackey penalties. It just was going back and forth, pretty evenly - it was 1-1 after the 1st, 2-2 after the second. Then things started getting turned up a bit. The crowd was loud, up from 5,022 Thursday to 9,115 tonight. Rick DiPietro showed that he hasn't been going to his "Wandering Goalies Anonymous" meetings. Somehow, the kid thinks he need to play every puck that comes near him. We just need to remember that - and I think we do - to see how we can capitalize on it. Brad Tapper tipped in a slapshot from the high slot by Dallas Eakins. Andreas Karlsson had an empty netter that he struggled to get working over a Bridgeport defender, and actually got kicked by Ricky, who was sitting on the wall and not on the bench. Pasi Nurminen saved 29 of 31 shots while Ricky only saved 14 of 17 shots. We lead 3-1 in the series and actually have a possibility of winning the Calder Cup at home on Monday! How unlike me - a bit too optimistic, but it'd be pretty cool.
    (Boxscore)

    posted at 10:43 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, May 30, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Sound Tigers 0

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Bridgeport Sound Tigers Commemorative Calder Cup puck John and Carol with her signs, and Carol behind them The Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the pre-game shoot-around Looks like they turned-up the propane for the player introductions... Presentation of the Western Conference Champion Robert W. Clarke Trophy before the game
    What a game - what a game - what a game! Back again at the Allstate Arena, this time for the third game of the AHL Calder Cup Finals. I'm still in shock that the Wolves are actually playing for the cup. The series is tied 1-1. I was hoping that the team can really take it to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (and what the hell is a Sound Tiger? The logo says Sound Tigers and not Tigers). I really wanted to see the team stick it to "Ricky". Ricky is Rick DiPietro that I talked about last week. As much as I thought Jean-Francois Labbe, the goalie for Syracuse Crunch was nuts, I think Ricky is just a punk kid whose ego is much larger than his current ability. Well, we got to him all right. He was making mistakes all night. Once, he went behind the net and half-nelson'ed one of our players, so he got a penalty for interference. Later, while there was a "fire drill" (Judd Sirott's words) in front of his net, Ricky was swimming and flopping around on the ice. He turned his back to the play to try to get up and yep, we scored on him. Later on in frustration, to clear the puck out of the zone, he threw it up in the air and took a full swing at it to send it down the ice - just a real cocky move. So we stuck it to them - the Wolves won 4-0. How sweet - we had a shutout, and we were able to score 4 times on Ricky. Aw, poor Ricky. Pasi Nurminen stopped all 28 shots (Ricky stopped 19 of 23). The crowd, though not as big I would have wished, was loud, and I know that helped the team (they've made a lot of comments in the press about wanting to play at home and having loud and involved fans. Guess we did our job tonight. I hope we can keep this up. (Boxscore)

    posted at 10:19 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, May 27, 2002

    White Sox 6 - Yankees 10

    Chicago White Sox New York Yankees Tonight's Promotion: Mousepads from Patria Partners A pre-game tribute to Robin Ventura on the JumboTron Part of ground's crew pause to watch the tribute to Robin Ventura The sun lights up the top of the scoreboard before sunset Is the upper deck too steep? Try walking up 30 rows to your seat! Tonight's winner - Green Frog (sure wasn't the Sox...)
    Went to Comiskey today. We suck. The Yankees beat us 10-6 (hey... this is sounding familiar...) OK, let's talk about the positive side of the night - there was a tribute to former White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura (it was his first trip back to Comiskey since 1998 - he's been in the National League playing for the Mets, and this year he plays for the Yankees). Everyone gave him a standing "o" and he came out to acknowledge the crowd. It was great. Oh, and Frank Thomas celebrated his 34th Birthday.

    OK, let's talk about the bad side of the evening. We get there an hour & a half before the game - normally enough time. Tonight, the parking lots are full. Tonight's attendance - 43,781. We're not used to people actually being at the park! And the inflation in the attendance was all due to Yankee fans. Not just Yankee fans, those goddam sombitch arrogant friggin' big-mouthed Yankee fans. I hated every single one of those bastards. It's one thing to root for your team, it's another thing to antagonize the people around you, the friggin' bastards. Another way to tell that the increase in attendance wasn't due to White Sox fans? They were doin' the friggin' wave in the upper deck!!! You don't go to a damn baseball game in Chicago (even on the North Side) and do the friggin' wave!!!!!!!! Fights? Oh, sure. I saw a lot of people getting hauled out of the park - something we don't normally see. Screw you, you damn Yankee fans. Get the hell out our ballpark... Oh, and Carol almost attacked some blonde bimbo that was sitting behind us, but that's another story. She did lose it, though. I was a bit concerned. Anyway, Danny Wright gave up 6 runs on 5 hits in the first inning on 39 pitches. That was the game - if it wasn't for the first inning, the outcome would have been different. Jose Valentin twisted his ankle on a grounds crew hose when going after a foul ball. He's day-to-day now. The guy that's bothering me right now is Magglio Ordonez. He's not base running well - he seems to be giving up on double-play balls, making no attempt to get to first (in case someone bobbles the ball, which happened tonight) or at least attempt to take out the shortstop/second baseman. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right. Anyway, we were glad to get the hell out of Comiskey tonight.

    posted at 11:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, May 26, 2002

    White Sox 2 - Tigers 9

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers
    Went to Comiskey today. We suck. The Tigers beat us 9-2. Here's a stat for you - the Sox haven't won a day game in the month of May. Weird, huh? OK, starter Todd Ritchie got hit in the face in the first inning and I think it effected him. Of course, they left him in for 3 1/3 and he gave up 6 runs. The damage was done. In the seventh, Kelly Wunsch got hit on his throwing hand by a batted ball, and tried to throw to Ray Durham for a double play - and all he could do is sort of roll the ball to him.

    Today's Promotion: Fuji Film Photo Day Field "credential" for Photo Day (and a free Calling Card) 400 feet to straight away center... People lining up on the warning track, waiting for the players
    Best part of the day was before the game. It was the annual Fuji Film Photo Day, where the first 2,500 fans (I was one of 'em) were allowed on the field to take pictures of the players. Always a cool time getting up close and personal. Even better: Blue skies, sunny, temperature in the 70's - FINALLY!!!

    posted at 11:03 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, May 24, 2002

    Wolves 5 - Sound Tigers 4

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Bridgeport Sound Tigers
    The Wolves won 5-4 against Bridgeport in overtime in Game 1 of the Calder Cup finals. Really tense game. Was all tied 3-3 in the third when the Tigers got a goal with 1:43 left. I thought it was over, when Bob Nardella scored with 2.7 seconds left in the game. Then in overtime, at around the 10:30 mark, the lights went out in the place. I never heard a reason, but they must have been out at least 20 minutes. Anyway, Andreas Karlsson got the game winner. Bridgeport is finally a team that can really take the Wolves to task. It's a good matchup. Should be a fun series.

    posted at 11:04 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, May 22, 2002

    Calder Cup Finals

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Bridgeport Sound Tigers
    The Calder Cup finals have been set - the Wolves will play the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Now, here's there's a couple of weird things about this. This is their first year in existence. Though the Wolves started playing in 1994, it's the first year in this league. Their Goalie - Rick DiPietro - played for the Wolves last year (he was really young - he turns 21 this September - and there were a few times he was shaky with us). I can't wait to see Pasi go against Ricky.

    posted at 09:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, May 19, 2002

    Wolves 7 - Aeros 0

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros Wendell Young's banner at the Allstate Arena Wayne and Kathy Messmer sing the National Anthem Handshakes after the game
    The Chicago Wolves win the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as the AHL's Western Conference champions for 2001-02! For the third time in Four Years, the Wolves are playing for a championship cup. The Wolves won 7-0 over the Aeros. Pasi Nurminen in unbelievable. I can't stop talking about how much this guy works. And a shutout on top of it. In the third period, the Aeros were trying to score at all costs. When on a power play, they pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 attack, and came out with nothing. In fact, they played over half the period without a goalie just to get something. The team is playing like a team, considering that during the course of the season there were over 100 transactions sending guys up and down (or out). It's been a heck of a lot of fun to watch.

    posted at 05:31 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, May 18, 2002

    White Sox 10 - Angels 4

    Chicago White Sox Anaheim Angels Anaheim Angels taking Batting Practice Our Season Ticket Holder buddy Victor warming up in the Stadium Club Field of Dreams characters emerge from the smoke... Today's Promotion: Field of Dreams Fireworks sponsored by ComEd
    So it's, what, May 18? It's 48° at game time tonight. Mother Nature is screwing us yet again. Carol and I go to the park and head directly for the Stadium Club and get seats on the rail (not on the glass, but great seats anyway). This is why we spend the money for the Stadium Club - for shelter from cold, rain, and excessive heat. Around the 5th inning I take a trip downstairs and get our buddy Victor (otherwise known as The Diz on WGCI 107.5 FM) (who sits next to us) and Jeff & his date (who sit next to Victor) and rescue them from the cold with the warmth of the Stadium Club. As far as the game, well, Frank Thomas had two home runs, Paul Konerko and Jose Valentin each had a home run as the Sox win 10-4 over the Angels. Pitching was scary again. Gary Glover got the win. Kelly Wunsch made his first appearance after missing almost a year with arm surgery. He faced 3 batters and only threw 9 pitches with one walk and one hit. Rocky Biddle, Damaso Marte, Antonio Osuna and finally Bob Howry all pitched. Sounds and feels a bit excessive.

    posted at 10:29 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, May 17, 2002

    Wolves 2 - Aeros 1

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros Enemy fans all around the rink... Another night of 5,000 pairs of ThunderStix...
    I really don't know how Pasi Nurminen keeps doing it! The Wolves won 2-1 of the Houston Aeros and now lead the series 3-1. Officiating - crap, as usual for the AHL. Very uneven all season. Tonight, just 1:34 into the first period, Dan Snyder got mauled at center ice behind the play. Referee didn't see it. So Danny goes back, puts his stick between the aggressors' legs, and yanks straight up. Guy hits the ice. Referee didn't see it, but a linesman does. Danny gets a Five Minute Spearing penalty along with a game misconduct, because they think it was with intent to injure. Great, there goes one of out leading scorers, whose scored game winning goals in 4 playoff games. Somehow, we still survive. Pasi stopped 34 shots, and the one he didn't was a weird wrap-around where Pasi was down on the ice on the other side. Just looked weird. Finally had 7,035 people instead of the usual 2,000.

    posted at 10:46 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Wednesday, May 15, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Aeros 1

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros Right Wing Dan Plante and daughter Sidney hanging out before the game Aw, crap... first 5,000 people got Thunderstix... where's the Excedrin...
    Here we go again... Back again at the Allstate Arena, this time for the third game of the AHL Western Conference Finals. I'll be honest with you, and I think I've alluded to this a few times before, I am very surprised at being here. I didn't think a seventh seed team, that wasn't playing well, would make it this far in the playoffs. This is a best-of-seven series against our old IHL nemesis - the Houston Aeros. How much of a nemesis? In the old IHL, Chicago won the Turner Cup in 1998. Houston won it in 1999. Chicago won again in 2000 (after beating Houston in the Conference Final), and as far as 2001 is concerned - well, we lost the Turner Cup to the Orlando Solar Bears. But, the Solar Bears disbanded and did not make it into the AHL. However, The Solar Bears NHL affiliate was the Atlanta Thrashers - the new affiliate for the Wolves this year, so we have a few players from that Turner Cup team as well (like Turner Cup winning goaltender Norm Maracle, Dan Snyder and J.P. Vigier). The Wolves have met Houston in the Conference Finals three times in four years. Enough of the history. The series is tied at 1-1. The Wolves won tonight 4-1 with some brilliant goaltending by Pasi Nurminen. Man, I love this guy.

    After the game, walking to the car, we got a little scare. The Allstate Arena is right under the approach to runway 22R at O'Hare - and I mean right under the approach. If you've ever been there, watching the planes coming in is great. I do it all the time when I'm there. It's something I've actually done all my life - watching airplanes. Plane spotting (as opposed to Train Spotting). When I was in grade school, I would take the O'Hare Express bus from Jefferson Park to the airport just to walk around and watch. (Now, of course, the Blue Line El goes there directly, but not back in those days). Over time, you know traffic flows. You know the airlines that serve ORD, you know their fleets. Just like any other hobby, or a fan of something, over time, you learn and you just know. I was watching traffic coming into ORD on the way to the game, noticing that they were using 22R and 14L. When we came out, I could see the traffic in the dark lined up. But something isn't right. There's and aircraft coming in, amd I can't recognize what it is because it's moving fast and it has only a single landing light. There's no strobes, only blinking red & green marker lights. Then as it flies very low overhead I can see it as light reflects up at it's underbelly... it's a damn F-15 landing at O'Hare... That's weird. And then I look down the approach path again, and I see another aircraft, this time no landing light, just the green/red lights. Another F-15... But this time, right over the Allstate Arena, it breaks right and pulls away... what the hell is going on??? I never found out. A few minutes later, a Continental 737-700 comes over and lands normally. The traffic around the airport looks normal. It was a little scary seeing military now a days.

    posted at 10:04 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, May 12, 2002

    Another reason why AT&T Broadband Cable sucks

    OK, picture this. We come home from our fantastic dinner, and start to watch the Wolves game on AT&T Cable (They're playing the Houston Aeros in the second game in the AHL Western Conference Finals). The game is tied at 3-3, and continues into the second overtime period. Then, with about 6 minutes left in the second overtime, they make an announcement saying that you must tune to WCKG (105.9 FM) is you want to follow the game, because at midnight, they're dropping the television broadcast on AT&T!!!! WTF!?!?!? Why is it so damned important to air some crappy public access cable show instead of a hockey game that's made it into the second overtime period (at least)??? At 11:58PM, the Wolves score the game winning goal with exactly six minutes left in the period (Dan Snyder, his fourth game-winning goal of the playoffs), thus saving the fans from losing the TV feed. Still another reason why AT&T Broadband Cable sucks...

    posted at 12:11 AM | Link | Wolves § |

    Tuesday, May 07, 2002

    Wolves on cable

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch Houston Aeros
    Watched the Wolves play the Crunch tonight on AT&T Cable (yes, I know... I have DirecTV, why do I still have cable? For backup... and to watch the Wolves, that's why..., well, that and broadband internet connectivity...) for the decisive Game 7 of the AHL Western Conference Semifinals. The Wolves won 6-2 and go on to play the Houston Aeros for the AHL Western Conference Finals (starting Friday in Houston). The Wolves became just the 13th team in AHL history to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-seven series, the first team in AHL history to win three winner-take-all games in one AHL postseason (Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, and now Syracuse). How cool is it that two former-IHL teams are in the semifinals, guaranteeing that a former-IHL Turner Cup winning team will play for the AHL Calder Cup in the first year that they're in the league!!!

    posted at 09:03 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, May 05, 2002

    White Sox 2 - Athletics 3

    Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics Today's Promotion - Wilson Fielding Gloves from Pepsi & Navy Pier for the first 10,000 kids 13 and under Frank Thomas at the plate... no, really... the black dot over there... Frank Thomas Home Run Fireworks
    I hate getting to the park real early only to find out there's no batting practice. Nuts. Well, Oakland is a good team and hoping for a sweep was just a bit too optimistic. Frank Thomas had a home run, but Danny Wright just couldn't be as solid as we needed today. Sox lost 3-2. Cold day at the park - 48° at game time. The sun almost made the cold bearable but once it left (right at 2:20) forget it. It was bad.

    posted at 10:09 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, May 04, 2002

    White Sox 10 - Athletics 2

    Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics Saturday In The Park... Another White Sox winner... Today's Promotion - Fireworks Sponsored by Miller Lite
    OK, back home. The Sox won 10-2. Jose Valentin had 5 RBI, and Ray Durham had a home run and Carlos Lee had a spectacular catch in the 6th that saved a home run. We needed this - Oakland has had our number for a long time. The whooped us bad in Oakland last week with a sweep and a total of 32-5. Ouch. We won against them yesterday and we won today. Only 20% of the Sox's games have been decided by two runs or less - everything else seems a blowout, either good or bad.

    The weather wasn't too bad for our first night game of the season. It was pleasant, though not warm. It was also the first fireworks night. At least the presentation was new, so we have hope for a better series of fireworks this season.

    posted at 11:12 PM | Link | White Sox § |
    Blogging from my seat...

    Well, here I am at Comiskey Park, actually sitting in my seat, using my cell phone to post this via WAP. Too cool, but really too time consuming keying-in text using the keypad. The Sox are playing Oakland. It's a pitching duel - sort of. Oakland scored in the first... Oh crap! Jose Valentin just hit a triple with the bases loaded! I think I had better stop playing with the phone and watch the game - we're winning 4-1!

    posted at 07:21 PM | Link | Blogging § |

    Friday, May 03, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Crunch 1

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch
    Back again at the Allstate Arena for the fifth game of the AHL Western Conference Semifinals. It was a whole new series, as the Wolves on Wednesday tied-up the series 2-2 against Syracuse. Their goalie, Jean-Francois Labbe, is a certifiable nut case. If you get under his skin, he looses concentration and goes nuts - even committing penalties like high sticking. We noticed on Wednesday that when he "conditions" his crease area, he stacks the "snow" on either side of the goalposts. OK, not a big deal, but he builds snow castles - huge mounds - and they're outside the posts, so if a puck get's anywhere near the net, it slows down or stops. And he stacks it up higher on his glove side than his stick side. Well, somebody must have noticed he's doing this because Brad Tapper kept going over a knocked his piles around. And this pissed him off. Bad. And then the linesmen would go over and take the snow away. And he'd bitch and complain. And it would get under his skin. And fester. And he'd get a little out of control.

    Tonight was no exception. The snow piles didn't stay long. The linesmen were always cleaning them up. Labbe didn't look happy. Apparently, Brad Tapper took some quick French lessons from Guy Larose and was really yakking at Labbe. Labbe took a lot of exception to the taunts. Now, Syracuse scored first, but it took until the second period to do it. Labbe was still nuts. At the end of the period, he waited for Pasi Nurminen to leave the ice and skated up to him and went after him. That was the first of two penalties that Labbe had tonight. He just doesn't like being messed with. Oh, poor wittle Labbe... So, during the third period the Wolves scored three times (including still another empty net goal), and now, all of a sudden, Instead of being down in the series 0-2, we're up in the series 3-2. The Wolves travel to Syracuse for the final two games. I just hope they remember what it took to win here and bring that with them...

    posted at 10:49 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, May 01, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Crunch 1

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch
    Back at the Allstate Arena tonight for the fourth game of the AHL Western Conference Semifinals. It's not a good omen when, in front of your own net, your own player who is charging the net to help out on defense winds up actually scoring a goal for the opposing team before he gets buried into the net (thank you Mike Weaver). However, the rest of the game was very good. Very strong play and we finally figured out one thing - to score on Jean-Francois Labbe you have to go top shelf. The Wolves beat Syracuse 3-1. Pasi Nurminen has been very, very, very good in net. Oh, another thing - Syracuse doesn't like to lose. They seem to be a bunch of sore losers, so Friday's game should be interesting.

    A note: watching the matrix boards during the game for announcements has been interesting, but two items caught my attention tonight: Happy 30th Birthday Petey. Clearly, if you're 30, I think it's time to stop everyone from calling you Petey. And then you have to wonder what this person is like: Happy 34th Birthday Demonella.

    On a totally different note note related to hockey or birthdays, we heard from Barry late this afternoon. He's back home from the hospital. He went through 6 bags of IV antibiotics and he says the swelling has definitely gone down, and that the throbbing pain has also subsided a bit. He's in that "uncomfortable" feeling zone right now. We hope he recovers well.

    posted at 10:15 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, April 29, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Crunch 2

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Syracuse Crunch
    Back at the Allstate Arena tonight for the third game of the AHL Western Conference Semifinals. The Syracuse Crunch are leading the Wolves 2-0 in a best of seven series. The Wolves looked bad on TV, playing like, well, wimps. No aggression at all. Tonight - even though Andreas Karlsson got the first goal of the game, we're flat again. We're not finishing checks, we're not going after the puck. Next thing you know, we're losing 2-1 in the first period. Second period - same crap and we're taking stupid penalties like Brad Tapper cross-checking a guy in the back of the head. . Third period - something's different. They're finishing their checks. There's pressure in the attacking zone. All of a sudden, we're on a power play and Kamil Piros scores. OK, we're tied. We've got a chance. Then 10 minutes later J.P. Vigier scores. We get to the final minute, Syracuse pulls their goalie for an extra attacker, and Steve Maltais scores an empty netter. Wolves win 4-2, giving Syracuse their first loss in the playoffs. Game 4 Wednesday.

    posted at 09:59 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, April 21, 2002

    White Sox 11 - Tigers 8

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Today's Promotion - White Sox Calendars Seating area next to the Stadium Club bar Sitting at the window at the Stadium Club A cold, windy, rainy Comiskey Park from the warm, dry Stadium Club
    Such a cold, windy, rainy day... let's go to a baseball game! 43°. Thank God we made reservations for a window seat up in the Stadium Club bar at Comiskey. It felt good knowing that we could go to the park and not worry about how to dress for the weather. We got there early and got a good seat. Had a great lunch (the food is always good - the facility is handled by Levy Restaurants).

    The game was "iffy" again. Oh, sure, we scored 8 runs in the first inning (Jose Valentin had a home run, and Tigers starter Jose Lima only lasted 2/3 of an inning), but that doesn't mean anything anymore when you have a questionable starting pitcher. Today it was Jon Rauch (who is now officially the tallest player to ever play in the majors at 6' 11"). Well, those 8 runs weren't very secure as Rauch gave up 8 runs in 4 innings. I still don't know how a pitcher can feel the ball and control it in weather situations like this. Finally, in the 7th, Ray Durham came up to pinch hit with the bases loaded (he was out of the lineup with a chest cold - yesterday he had an ingrown toenail dug out. Ew.) and hit a single (which was misplayed by Tigers LF Bobby Higginson) that scored 3 runs and gave us the game. Whew. Watching the game from behind the glass sure made the game more enjoyable.

    Went to my parents' house for dinner. I jealous again - my sister is going to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival next weekend. She always goes to great destinations for these great little getaways.

    Watched the Wolves on cable TV and they won against Grand Rapids and advance to the Calder Cup Western Conference Semifinals! We never thought they would go further in the playoffs! They now play the Syracuse Crunch (the number 1 seed) in a best-of-7, but we don't know when.

    posted at 09:18 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 20, 2002

    White Sox 12 - Tigers 5

    Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Today's Promotion - White Sox Calendars Carol finds a St. Bernard waiting outside the park A little agressive Min Pin waiting outside the park The parade of dogs before the game The same St. Bernard in the pre-game parade The loneliest stand in the park - Dippin' Dots & Lemon Chill's The sign outside the dog area on the outfield concourse A skateboarding dog (yes, I saw him do it) Two great Great Pyrenees A very cold pug looking for warmth A bored Bernese Mountain Dog Ahhh... warmth... watching the game from te Stadium Club
    Another weekend at Comiskey Park. Today, other than the game against the Tigers, was Dog Day. People (with advance paperwork) can bring their dogs to the park for the day. There's a pre-game parade, the dogs and owners all sit together in their own section of the bleachers, and the outfield concourse is loaded with tables from local humane and pet organizations. It really is a fun time. For the last few years, it was held in August. There have been days where the temperatures were pretty high, and the dogs didn't fare very well being out in all that concrete in this heat. The Sox decided to change the date this year to April to help with the comfort level.

    April is not the correct month to do this.

    The day was miserable. Gametime temperature - 45°. Wind - 20 mph. Windchill in the 20's. This is not baseball weather. We got there early to look at the dogs as they entered the park at Gate 1. We went inside and it was pretty empty. The pre-game parade was one of the longer ones that I can remember. I also used to remember a costume judging aspect to all this - they must have stop doing that since we didn't hear anything about the winners.

    The game started out a little rough. Jon Garland didn't have the command of his pitches. But then again, how can a pitcher really feel the ball when you're pitching with windchills in the 20's? Again, the Sox offense was unbelievable. Jose Valentin, Frank Thomas, and Magglio Ordonez had home runs and Paul Konerko hit a Grand Slam.

    By the end of the 6th inning we had enough of the weather and went upstairs to the Stadium Club to watch the rest of the game and get a quick bite. We made reservations for seats on the glass for tomorrow - the weather is actually supposed to be worse.

    The Sox won 12-5. They now have the highest team slugging percentage in all of baseball at .509 and highest team batting average at .316. Pitching, well... 5th in the AL 18th in baseball with a 4.39 ERA., third in the AL in Fielding Percentage but 14th in all of baseball. It's obvious we're all offense. We need the pitching to come around, but that's something we saw during spring training. All I want right now is to either stay tight to the division leader or get on top and get some room between us and the rest of the division.

    posted at 05:08 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, April 19, 2002

    Wolves 0 - Griffins 3

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins
    Oh, crap. I just got back from the Wolves game. To say the Wolves came out "flat" is an understatement. there was no scoring until Grand Rapids scored at 5:55 into the third period. It went downhill from there. Referee Ian Walsh didn't call anything and because of it the game play got out of hand. Quickly. There was one 5-on-5 melee that was pretty intense. So, the Griffins wind up on a power play to end the game. What happens? Somehow, the coach pulls Nurminen, just so there can be a 5-on-5 - only the rest of the team didn't know it - the final goal is an empty netter, with 1:20 left in the game. The real fight began when the Griffins' Wade Brookbank sucker punched somebody on the Wolves (it could have been Joe DiPenta), and a 6-on-6 donnybrook ensued - yep, goalie Pasi Nurminen skated all the way across the ice to go after Martin Prusek who was still in his crease. Walsh just stood behind the net with his notepad taking names. DiPenta went into the penalty box during the fight with a huge gash on his head and had to be attended to by the trainer. Somebody on the Griffins had his jersey stripped off and he was in the fight naked from the waist up (except for his shoulder pads). The linesmen were scraping the blood off the ice for a while after the gloves and sticks were picked up. Seven players got penalties, including David Van Drunen of the Griffins who got a game misconduct (you know - he must be the naked guy... I think that if your jersey gets removed, it means that you didn't have your fight strap hooked-up, and I think that's a game misconduct). I blame Walsh for all of this. He let it escalate throughout the game.

    The Wolves lost 3-0, and now go back to Michigan tied 2-2 for a deciding fifth game on Sunday. (Boxscore)

    Francis Lessard served his third game of a ten game suspension (a result of receiving a game misconduct penalty for physical abuse of officials last Saturday in Grand Rapids). Thank you so much for going postal.

    posted at 10:56 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, April 17, 2002

    Wolves 2 - Griffins 1

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins
    Last week, I remember commenting that the Chicago Wolves wouldn't get far in this year's Calder Cup playoffs. Then the Wolves win a best-of-three series against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. On Saturday, the Wolves started a best-of-five series against the Grand Rapids Griffins for the Western Conference Quarterfiinals. The Wolves lost Saturday up in Michigan, but won yesterday. Tonight, they were back home and they won again 2-1. Yuri Butsayev had both goals, and Pasi Nurminen had 31 saves. Wow. This was pretty intense. Could it happen? Is it possible? The next game is Friday and Grand Rapids now finds itself in a must-win situation. Wow. (Boxscore)

    posted at 10:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, April 15, 2002

    How I remember Tax Day

    Here it is tax day. Four years ago today I was released from Brunswick just months shy of 20 years of service. After a few consulting gigs, and one wonderful ride (while it lasted) at Whittman-Hart/marchFIRST, I'm still looking for a job. I hate this. It almost feels like the world is revolving without me, like I'm not plugged-in to the industry anymore. The job market is really bad, but at least a job posting or two pops up every couple of weeks. I can't imagine how many resumes these recruiters get for a single opening. Carol & I need to get me back in the stream of things. I feel like a cast-off.

    posted at 11:00 AM | Link | Mundane § |

    Sunday, April 14, 2002

    White Sox 9 - Orioles 4

    Chicago White Sox Baltimore Orioles Today's promotion - Magglio Ordoñez Bobblehead Doll Sign outside the entrance to the main level concourse The new look of the main concourse New permanent souvenir stands on the main concourse Ahhhh... back at the ballpark...
    Back at Comiskey to see the Sox run out of power and pitching. The Sox lost to Baltimore 9-4. Danny Wright gave up 5 runs and got the loss. He was wild, throwing stuff all over the place. Lorenzo Barcelo came on in relief and gave up 4 more runs. Saw Mike Porzio for the first time and pitched two good innings. Damaso Marte came out to pitched the 9th and also looked good (but it got his high-flying ERA down to 11.57). Kenny Lofton was 3-for-5 and is now batting .400. Paul Konerko was 3-for-4 and is getting his average up a bit to .298. More people at the game - 23,951, probably because of Magglio Ordonez Bobblehead Doll Day. (ESPN Boxscore here)

    posted at 09:24 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Saturday, April 13, 2002

    Hey! It's Lisa!

    The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal Hey! It's Lisa From The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal! Hey! It's Lisa From The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal!
    Well, as you know I've spent a few days at Comiskey Park cheering on the White Sox this weekend. Well, Carol and I were sitting in our seats before the game today and who comes walking up the aisle selling Pepsi? Yep! It was Lisa, our favorite Assistant U.S. Attorney/Hot-Dog Vendor from The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal on ABC! We talked briefly. She was genuinely warm and seemed to be a little excited that she was actually identified. She said that she had received an EMail last week saying that the Mole will start up again around the first week of June, though she didn't have the exact date. So, she obviously got her Comiskey Park job back, and she said that the paperwork had not gone through, so she was able to return to her other job as well. She also said that there's a good little twist around week 6 of the show. Can't wait to see it - We enjoyed this show so much in its first run, that I wanted to Audition for Mole 2 (but couldn't because of other commitments). I would love to do be on this show.

    posted at 10:37 PM | Link | The Mole § |
    White Sox 4 - Orioles 3

    Chicago White Sox Baltimore Orioles Today's promotion - magnetic schedules View from our Weekend Season Ticket seats New signage for section numbers The new concourse lighting on the new brick facade MLB Opening Day 2002 logo behind the plate The new backstop netting behind home plate The new Batter's Eye in front of the scoreboardate Bushes and ivy on the new Batter's Eye The plaza on top of the Batter's Eye
    Ahhhh... back at Comiskey, but now we're back in our "normal" Season Ticket seats. It's great seeing everybody around you again. There are people that we consider friends that sit around us amd it's interesting seeing them come back and see if their seats have changed.

    Couldn't tell how the game was going to turn out. Todd Ritchie started, but was pretty shaky. Antonio Osuna came out in relief and pitched a great inning, and wound up getting the win when Paul Konerko got out of his 0-16 slump and hit a single in the eighth to score Ray Durham for the go-ahead run. Jose Valentin had his second home run in two days. And Keith Foulke finally looked like the Keith Foulke of old and got his fourth save. The attendance was back to what we have seen around here - 19,201. At least it was another "quick" game at 2:36. (ESPN Boxscore here)

    After the game, we went to Barry & Buffy's, where Barry barbecued some ribs and fried up some shrimp. You can't beat barbecue. Another great evening with friends - too bad Buff has had a cold for almost a week and is miserable, though she's finally getting better.

    posted at 10:18 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, April 12, 2002

    White Sox 5 - Orioles 2 - Home Opener

    Chicago White Sox Baltimore Orioles A sample of the new signage around the main concourse The South Side Hitmen Grille Ozzie & Harold's All-Star Stand The new brats stand next to our season ticket section The Grounds Keeper coffee shop (actually, a Dunkin Donuts) Side view of the new Batter's Eye in center field The new plaza behind the new Batter's Eye in center field TV Cameras on top of the new Batter's Eye in center field TV Camera view from the new Batter's Eye in center field View through the nylon screen on top of the new Batter's Eye in center field Opening Day player introductions Balloons released after the National Anthem
    Another long day, but baseball started at Comiskey and I felt that "clock" that moves move life start ticking again. We were pretty excited to see what the new renovations looked like at the Park. There was four things that were done over the winter - the first we wouldn't be able to see, and that was the enclosure and rehab of the Club level concourse and concessions. Another renovation was minor, but was put to the test during the game - a new backstop. This one is a much finer mesh and it's just a vertical screen - there is no longer a net to cover the people behind the plate. If there's a foul ball behind the plate, people now must pay attention because the net won't save them!

    The other two renovations were hard to miss. The old black aluminum "Batter's Eye" in center field was torn apart and rebuilt to include plantings (bushes and IVY). On top is a large plaza area that had a series of picnic tables. To block any distraction of the fans from the batters, is a large green nylon "screen" that lined the plaza area. It's difficult to see people moving behind the screen, so the batters shouldn't be distracted. The problem is that the screen is pretty hard to see through. You can sort of see the field, but it's almost impossible to see the ball.

    The biggest renovation and the one that we were really excited about was the main concourse. Everything was redone in brick and aluminum, with new lighting, signage and new designs for all the concession stands - it totally changed the feel of the park when you were walking around. It was amazing. It's gorgeous, and it's in the right "direction" to change the over all look of the park. And then I heard on the radio the one thing that I've wanted for years that I think will be the biggest change to the look of the park: in the future, the seats and padding on the walls will be changed from blue to dark green! YES!!! You'll see more pictures of the rennovations in the next couple of games. For some reason, they've named most of the concession stands after former White Sox players

    So, what about the game?, Oh yeah, the Sox won 5-2 over the Orioles. Mark Buehrle pitched 7 innings of 2-hit ball (he's now 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA). Home runs by Jose Valentin, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Ray Durham. Kenny Lofton was 3-for-3 with a walk. Keith Foulke got another save, but he's still looking shaky - he gave up 2 hits in the 9th, and his ERA is still high at 6.35, which isn't good for a closer. There were a lot of questionable calls from the entire umpiring crew, that almost made it feel like there was a conspiracy against us. Weird. And, in typical White Sox fan fashion - not a sell out, but 41,128 were there. The game lasted only 2:24, which was great. (ESPN Boxscore here)

    After the game, we drove out to Riverside to have dinner with our Season Ticket buddies Janie & Gary (who we were sitting with during the game). First we made our flight reservations - we're going to Detroit to see the Sox play the Tigers at Comerica Park on July 14th. Should be fun, and I really enjoy seeing new ballparks. We went out to dinner at a restaurant called the Choo Choo Cafe in Riverside. Now, when I heard the name of this place, I had this thought of old women serving coffee in gingham dresses and aprons to patrons sitting at red & white checkerboarded oil clothed tables. Not so. This is a bit "upscale" and the food was great. Carol & Gary and lamb shanks, Janine had some encrusted chicken thing, & I had a New York Strip that was one of the better pieces of meat that I've had in a while.

    Long day but a good day.

    posted at 09:12 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Thursday, April 11, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Mighty Ducks 2

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Hey! He's Back! The gentleman (on the left) that was hit by a puck yesterday The Wolves celebrate after their win The teams congratulate each other
    Wow. It was another 3-2 game, but tonight the Wolves win and advance to the Western Conference Quarterfinals! On Tuesday, I didn't believe we'd make it. The team finally played with a good intensity and held-off the Ducks. Zdenek Blatny had the game-winning goal again, and Frederic Cassivi was great in the net again, stopping 32 shots. Another poor showing by the fans, though - the boxscore said 2,032, the lowest of the three games.

    The other good news is that the guy that was hit by the puck yesterday was at the game tonight! Everybody knew what happened and everybody was talking to him to make sure he was OK. In a very odd way, it felt good that he was there...

    So now the Wolves are off to Grand Rapids starting Saturday for a Best of 5 series. The Wolves are back in town on Wednesday.

    posted at 10:13 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, April 10, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Mighty Ducks 2

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Another accident - an elderly gentleman is attended-to after being hit by a puck
    Oh my God, this turned into a long night... Back at the Allstate Arena for the second game of this silly AHL Qualifying Series. It took two overtimes, but the Wolves won over Cincinnati 3-2 on a goal by Zdenek Blatny. The boxscore says there were 2,061 people there, which means the attendance was down from yesterday's game. There wasn't any "desperation playing" by either team. The game was relatively penalty-free. Both teams, though, looked pretty tired. It made me comment that the team that wins will win because of a mistake. Blatny's goal was on a slapshot that tipped off the glove of the Duck's rookie goaltender Joey MacDonald (who never played a game in the AHL before tonight). Frederic Cassivi actually looked good (and at times, stellar), stopping 43 shots (Last year, Cassivi led the AHL a 1.49 goals-against average during the playoffs with the Hershey Bears).

    Oh, and I spoke too soon yesterday about "Chuck-A-Puck" - someone actually won the $500 tonight by getting their puck in the helmet!

    On the downside, someone else was hit with a puck during the game. An elderly gentleman in the section next to us was hit in the side of the head with the puck. He wasn't watching the game - he was looking into a bag of candy that friends of ours offered to him. The security guys (like Rick who sits right behind the official scorers) responded quickly, and so did two paramedics who saw the incident from across the arena. Friends of the gentleman, who left with him, came back for the overtime periods. They told us that he got 4 staples to close the wound. (And to show how awkward this was, it turns out that this man has had 2 brain surgeries in the past). So between the candy, and the fact that the usher at the top of our section invited this guy to come to the game, there were a few people that felt bad about the whole situation.

    posted at 11:04 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    Symmetry. Catch it.

    How strange of a sports coincidence is this??? Chicago is playing Detroit in Detroit today. So? It's the Chicago White Sox at the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago Blackhawks at the Detroit Red Wings, and the Chicago Bulls at the Detroit Pistons!!! All today!!! Weird, eh? Oh, and on a different sporting note, I heard that the Florida Marlins ran out of hotdogs in the fourth inning of their home opener! How could someone let that happen?

    posted at 12:44 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Tuesday, April 09, 2002

    Wolves 2 - Mighty Ducks 3

    2002 AHL Calder Cup Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 2,119 fans watch the lackluster Wolves 2,119 fans cheer as the Wolves FINALLY score a goal The Wolves Chuck-A-Puck charity event Another way to tell that the Allstate Arena was empty...
    The Wolves first journey towards the AHL Calder Cup began tonight... and nobody cared. Not the fans, and surely not the team. First, this round is just weird. The season just ended Sunday, and two days later is a best of three qualifying series of games. The Wolves (the #7 seed in the Western Conference) play the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (the #10 seed). All three games are played here and all on consecutive nights (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday). Well, there was nobody in the stands. The box score said that the attendance was 2,119, but that was paid. It sure looked empty inside the Allstate Arena. I think it was emptier than some of the severe snow days that we've had. The turnout was just bad. And then they decide to do their old stand-by charity event - "Chuck-A-Puck". This is where you purchase an orange, foam rubber puck for $2 (3 for $5) with a number on it. During one of the intermissions, a member of the Wolf Pack will go out to center ice and place a helmet (open side up) in the middle of the ice. Then all the fans throw their pucks onto the ice, trying to get their puck into the helmet to win $500. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever accomplished this. It's an easy fund raiser for the night's charity.

    And the game? Well, the Wolves never looked like they were there. Pasi Nurminen was still a scratch (I wonder what really happened to him - he was "shaken-up" in a game last Wednesday). And then coach decides to bench Norm Maracle, so Frederic Cassivi was in the net. He tried. As usual, he had no defense to back him up. We had a 6-on-4 for the last minute of the game and we couldn't tie it up. The Wolves lost 3-2. Lackluster. No intensity. Poor passing. Mistakes. The words "they suck" just keep going through my head. They look tired and the look like they're not committed to this. Right now I feel that the Wolves won't make it through this crazy Qualifying Round, and I'm not sure they will win tomorrow. It's hard to root for a team that looks like they don't care.

    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, April 07, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Aeros 4

    Chicago Wolves Houston Aeros Merchandise clearance sale! Everything must go! The team getting ready for the "Shirts Off Our Backs" promotion Wolves "Shirts Off Our Backs" promotion
    Last Wolves game of the regular season. The Wolves lost 4-3 against the Houston Aeros. This is not the way to go into the playoffs. It looked like Norm Maracle didn't see any of the shots coming at him. I mean, Houston only had 17 shots! We need Pasi Nurminen back quickly (he got shook-up in a game last Wednesday). Instead - as our backup goalie, we've got a guy named Michael Garnett who was signed by the team as an Amateur Tryout! Oh, great! We now have the 7th seed in the playoffs. That means we don't get a bye in the first round of the "Western Conference Qualifier" - a best of three series against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks on Tuesday, Wednesday (and, if necessary, Thursday). Great - a best of three series.

    This was also the last day of Fan Appreciation weekend. They were still selling tons of old merchandise in the East lobby. After the loss, the team threw merchandise over the glass to the fans (which is always a cool thing). Then they had the "Shirts Off Our Backs" promotion - during the course of the season at selected games, the Wolves were wearing alternate jerseys (it's a cool black jersey, that looks similar to the Atlanta Thrashers (their Parent Club) alternate jersey). The jerseys were auctioned-off for charity (usually one or two a game). The winners came to this game and were escorted onto the ice after the game, where each Wolves player, one at a time, skated over and literally gave them their "shirts off their backs". Off course, they were a bit smelly and sweaty and may have blood on them, but hey - it's a game worn jersey! The downside to all this is the auction itself. Though it benefits charities, the average price for a jersey is $1,000. There are so many fans that cannot compete with this kind of money. Not only that, the vast majority of the bidders already have other jerseys that they have bid on and won!!!! Give us schmoes a break!

    posted at 09:08 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    Wolves 2 - Griffins 3

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins Chelby, Carol, Nicole, Damian and Scott - our little "crew" Caution message on the video screens Joey and his Thunder Stix Wayne Messmer with the five finallists for the Porsche Giveaway Victor O'Block wins the Porsche 944 One of the 24 dogs up for adoption
    The season is winding down, and the Wolves lost to the Griffins again 3-2. This was just a case of being outplayed. Period. The Griffins were swarming, and just seemed a hell of a lot quicker. Before the game, Steve Maltais and Rob Brown were honored in a pregame ceremony to recognize that each player surpassed 1,000 professional games this season. These guys are getting old - but here's Rob Brown who's second in the entire league in points (83)!

    Today and tomorrow are Fan Appreciation games. Today, they gave away a 1986 Classic Porsche 944 (there were entry forms given out at each home game). There was also Scratch-and-Win cards for everybody to get giveaway stuff (today we got a team picture and a CD from The Verve Pipe). The first 10,000 people got a pair of Thunder Stix - basically they're mylar tube balloons that you blow up and seal, and you bang them together. Let's just say they were way more annoying than you would think. Tonight was the last night of the Chicago's Department of Animal Care and Control (ACC) "Adopt-A-Pet" Program - there were 24 dogs up for adoption, and they made an announcement during the game that 16 were adopted. Before today, there have been 77 dogs adopted. Dan Snyder has a web page on the team website for the adoption program.

    Oh, I got hit before the game tonight. Not with a puck, but with a tennis ball that was thrown into the crowd. (It's part of a Max & Erma's giveaway - there's Wolves Players' names on the tennis balls - if the first goal is scored by the player whose name is on your tennis ball, you get something). Well, I got hit in the collarbone. I couldn't see what was going on - Brad who sits in front of me was sitting on the back of his seat, totally blocking my view. I never saw the ball. And it hurt like hell - it caught the bone just right. Oh, well. I'm happy it wasn't a puck.

    After the game tonight, we went over to the Ramada for a private WolfPack party in a suite. It was a bit too empty, and then we found out why - there was an after-game skate around, so everyone was still back at the Allstate Arena. We didn't stay too long - we were bushed, and with the change in Daylight Savings Time, we thought it'd be a good idea to get home.

    posted at 12:26 AM | Link | Wolves § |

    Monday, April 01, 2002

    My Life-Clock starts ticking again

    WARNING: In case you are new to this blog, please be aware that I'm a Chicago White Sox fan. Please - no flames - I wouldn't respond like that about that "other" team - please respect my opinions and allegiance.
    That being said, my life's clock has begun ticking again - Baseball has started!!! It's going to be a rocky ride this season - the Sox have only one or two guys that I trust pitching - the rest are a toss-up. We saw that today when the Sox won 6-5 over the Mariners in Seattle. The bright spots: Mark Buehrle pitching 6-innings of two-hit ball with 5 strikeouts (one solo Home Run, unfortunately). Konerko and Alomar with 2 RBI's each. Tough win. Todd Ritchie starts tomorrow. Let's see how the series progresses.

    posted at 07:18 PM | Link | Baseball § |

    Saturday, March 30, 2002

    Lasagna and Wolves

    Went to Chelby & Damian's tonight for dinner and, of course, watch the Wolves game on CLTV. Good dinner - lasagna. I love Italian food. Good lasagna. Later, during the game - a root beer float. Oh, yummmmmmmmmmmm... Of course, I had lost a few pounds just before going over there. I got on the scale and realized that I gained it all back. Nuts. Oh, the Wolves lost 5-1 (they're in Utah). They looked terrible and were outplayed.

    posted at 11:16 PM | Link | Friends § |

    Thursday, March 28, 2002

    Preseason

    Watching the White Sox - Cubs preseason game on Fox Sportsnet Chicago (The Sox are winning 16-3 after 5 innings). There's a black cat running on the field. Of course, Chip Caray has to say that he feels good about it since it's on the Sox side of the field. I HATE Chip Caray. HATE him. (Update: Sox won 22-7)

    posted at 03:56 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Wednesday, March 27, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Wolfpack 1

    Chicago Wolves Hartford Wolfpack
    The Chicago Wolves played the Hartford Wolfpack tonight. It looked dicey early when Hartford scored first on Olympian Pasi Nurminen. They looked pretty strong. But somehow, the Wolves got back into it and wound up winning 4-1! And to top it off, the clinched a playoff birth with their win tonight! Very cool, but I hold no hope that they'll win the Calder Cup this year. Rob Brown tied it up in the first, and is now tied for the league-lead in scoring with 78 points. Guy Larose had two goals tonight. It's nice to see him back from the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL. (Simon Gamache is also back from the Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL)

    Puck accident at tonights Wolves game
    In the third, there was a very scary moment. There was someone from Hartford that took a shot on goal. It was a rocket. It went wide and ricocheted high off the tall glass on the end of the rink. The puck came off the glass and somehow cleared the glass on the side of the rink and hit a guy in the second or third row squarely on the bridge of his nose. Well, everybody freaked as this poor guy is streaming in blood and pain, so the Rosemont police guys (who work the Allstate Arena security) ran (pushed) through the crowd to help. It took way the hell too long for the medical teams to get to the guy (5-10 minutes maybe). The guys was in pain and even though Rick (one of the cops that sits by us by the Penalty Box) was the first to get to him and had a towel over his face, there was still blood everywhere. Smalley and Kenny O told us there was blood everywhere in the aisle and they moved some of the fans out of the area. All that we could think of is Brittanie Cecil at the Columbia Blue Jackets game. Hockey is quick, people. Pay attention. (even though, I don't think this guy had a chance - the shot was a rocket). He walked to a wheelchair so that he could get medical attention. Everyone gave him a round of applause.

    posted at 10:19 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Tuesday, March 19, 2002

    Brittanie Cecil

    You know, if you've read this blog, that Carol & I go to hockey games regularly - we support the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. I have been hit by a puck once - took one on the chin after in bounced off some seats in front of us. It hurt, but did little damage. Now, in what is believed to be the first death of a fan hit by a puck at an NHL game, a 13-year-old girl died after being hit in the head by a puck that was a slapshot by Espen Knutsen from the left circle, shot over the high glass and glanced off another spectator at a Columbus Blue Jackets game against the Calgary Flames. I just saw the tape - she got up, and had a towel or something to her forehead. You have to watch the game and keep on your toes - you have no idea how startling it is to see a puck coming at you. This is really sad...

    posted at 05:44 PM | Link | Current Events | 2 comments § |

    Monday, March 18, 2002

    Radiation Therapy Chauffeur™ duty

    Drivin' down the Northwest Tollway...
    They didn't start on the Tollway construction yet. They were putting out barrels along the inside shoulder, but that's about it. Traffic was normal inbound & outbound during my daily trip to the parents and taking Dad to Radiation Therapy at Loyola. The waiting room was really crowded - overflowing out into the hall. Things just felt slower. So did Dad - he's just slowing down. I think the radiation is getting to him. Hopefully he'll tough it out.

    posted at 03:05 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Sunday, March 17, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Admirals (Norfolk) 4

    Chicago Wolves Norfolk Admirals Coach John Anderson Bobblehead Doll Wedding of Abe Bloom and Pamela Shaw during 1st Intermission Irish Dancers during 2nd Intermission Bidders hovering over the Silent Auction bid sheets
    Well, 13,116 people saw the Chicago Blackhawks farm team, the Norfolk Admirals beat the Chicago Wolves today 4-3. The Wolves had some absolutely Brilliant play in the second period, but just couldn't catch-up. Norm Maracle actually looked bad, letting at least one of the goals go by him on a simple glove save. He gave up all 4 goals on just 19 shots - Frederic Cassivi replaced him in the second. For about a minute and a half late in the third, we actually had a 6 on 3 power play!!! And came away with nothing. Clean play, though - even with our new guy from Philadelphia Francis Lessard. He had 14 minutes in penalties last night in his first game with us. He set a franchise Record for the Philadelphia Phantoms in penalty minutes back in the 1999-2000 season with 416. The next year he had 330. He already had 251 with Philadelphia this year before we got him. Sigh.

    The big crowd today could have been for the Coach John Anderson Bobblehead Doll giveaway. Or it was for the end of the St. Patrick's Day Jersey Auction. I didn't see a single jersey for under $700. There was a wedding during the first intermission. Both the bride and groom skated onto the ice (separately, of course). Too bad the groom couldn't stop well, and fell into a metal arch of balloons and flowers, toppling them and him. A bit embarrassing. Wayne Messmer came up the aisle afterward (he "hosted" the event) and muttered something about "Some people have no shame..."

    posted at 07:07 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Thursday, March 14, 2002

    Wolves 2 - Phantoms 1

    Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms Front of Chicago Wolves St. Partick's Day Jersey Back of Chicago Wolves St. Partick's Day Jersey
    The Wolves met the Philadelphia Phantoms tonight. A very good game, and I was actually feeling good about the Wolves again. We beat Philly 2-1. The Phantoms had only 5 defensemen available for the game due to injuries and a suspension - a pretty clean game, though. It was weird seeing Jarrod Skalde playing for them (he was traded to them on March 5 for Joe DiPenta, and now Skalde is an Assistant Captain). We're not doing too bad since Atlanta called-up All Star J.P. Vigier on March 13. And Atlanta is not doing bad either - they won 2-0 against the Colorado Avalanche tonight with goals from, yep, J.P. Vigier and Brian Pothier who was recalled on March 9. I even felt good about Norm Maracle - he's been seeing the puck pretty well. Not a big crowd tonight - 4,609 - pretty typical for a weeknight.

    The Wolves wore their St. Patrick's Day Jerseys which will be auctioned on Sunday (a silent auction). When the doors opened, somebody put a $1,000 bid on Derek MacKenzie's jersey. In case you haven't been to one of these things, $1,000 is about average to low for a jersey. And the whole team's jerseys are available. The proceeds from this auction go to Easter Seals.

    posted at 10:04 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, March 10, 2002

    Wolves 2 - Grizzlies 4

    Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies
    Another crappy showing from the Wolves as the Utah Grizzlies beat them 4-2. They still can't handle a puck. They were just outplayed. A fairly clean game, though. It was a Family Fun Fest day, whatever that meant. All we knew is that there was a bout a dozen 5-8 year-olds sitting next to us. Carol kept referring to them as a "Gopher town" because all she heard was the high-pitched "bee-bee-bee-bee-bee-bee" as they were all taking at once throughout the entire game. Most of the time, they weren't talking but yelling in each others faces. Weird. We think it was a birthday outing. The dad, who was in the row behind us, was just burning through is money. We heard him pay almost $25 for 7 lemonades, and he had done that twice, not to mention cotton candy for everyone and then snow cones, and it looked like he bought pucks for all the kids later. Look, the Wolves are cheap entertainment, but concessions sure aren't.

    posted at 07:09 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, March 09, 2002

    Paralympics

    Paralympics Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...
    Huh??? Yep, I totally forgot about these games! I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies are on NBC right now. The rest of the games are going to be on A&E at 6pm EST each night this week.

    posted at 01:15 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Tuesday, March 05, 2002

    Radiation Therapy Chauffeur™ duty

    The last two days have been interesting driving on the tollway & expressway - there have been a lot of trucks that have been sitting outside collecting snow over the weekend. Now, as they barrel down the road at a high rate of speed, the compacted snow is shooting off the tops of the trucks in sheets, causing havoc for anyone following behind. You don't want to be behind these things. I saw another truck that didn't have compacted snow, just light snow on top. It left a blizzard behind it - you couldn't see the traffic in the middle of this snow-cloud.

    On the way to pick-up my parents, I saw a huge fire over in Harwood Heights. I think I heard later on the radio that it was some kind of auto body place. It was kind of startling to see - being on the Kennedy expressway, you're sort of in a wide ditch - below ground level, so you don't see what's going on in the neighborhoods around you. Then, when I got off at Nagle, you could see the black smoke in the sky, not very far ahead. It must not have been burning very long.

    Ah... baseball on the radio... Sox playing the Cubs... gotta love it... and the Sox won 20-6! And it was a split squad game for the Sox! Update: Of course, bragging too soon, the Sox split-squad lose against Arizona 16-5 tonight...

    Hey, did you know that an ostrich's eye is heavier than it's brain? See, the daytime version of the Weakest Link is educational!

    Got an invoice from the Chicago Wolves for Calder Cup playoff tickets. Like they're gonna win the cup this year... We reluctantly spend money that we don't have and send in our ticket request (including a 25% deposit for next season's tickets).

    posted at 03:16 PM | Link | Family § |

    Saturday, March 02, 2002

    Wolves 3 - Americans 3

    Chicago Wolves Rochester Americans A very snowy Allstate Arena reserved parking lot Darcy Hordichuk and Christian Matte Mario Larocque and Andrew Peters Sign for the Rochester Penalty Box The neighborhood after the game...
    Well, we set off to the hockey game in the snow. The traffic was pretty light - not many people wanted to be out on the street. The traffic moved well, and we were there in no time. I was surprised at how many cars were in the lost an hour before the game. The Wolves played the Rochester Americans for the first time at the Allstate Arena. The referee (Dan O'Rourke) called everything, even Delay of Game. Lots of Misconducts, too. He wanted to be in control of the game, and for the most part he was. He was consistent at least - all you can ask for. The Americans have a guy (Andrew Peters) with over 300 Penalty Minutes. Well, they lit-up our goalie Frederic Cassivi (3 goals on 6 shots) so Coach Anderson replaced him with Norm Maracle, who stopped the rest of the shots. The game ended in a 3-3 tie after overtime. The official stats say the attendance was 13,119 - I find that a bit hard to believe because of the weather, though there really was a good crowd. In a nice gesture, the Wolves are allowing fans the opportunity to redeem last night's used or unused game ticket for admission to any other regular-season game, Sunday through Friday, for the remainder of the season. Aren't minor league franchises great? The ride home wasn't too bad, though the neighborhood wasn't too clean. Now, the temperatures are supposed to drop to zero tomorrow night...

    posted at 10:41 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, February 24, 2002

    SLC Day 17

    Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...

    IT'S OVER... the closing ceremonies just wrapped, and I'm still feeling melancholy about it. I know I don't participate, but I'm just sad to see it end. Again I found myself yelling at the TV to get the NBC commentators to STFU! I want to watch and listen to the ceremonies. (I think we lost the whole concept of the dinosaurs because of the talking and commercials.) I'm also still trying to figure out who the hell invited Christina Aguilera to sing at the ceremonies... Seeing fireworks all over the Wasatch valley was pretty cool, and I hope that all the neon paint that they sprayed all over the ice at the arena isn't permanent - I wouldn't want to wear a leather coat (like Team USA) only to get paint all over it!

    Last medal update - nothing in Women's 30 km Cross Country. Canada just outplayed USA in Hockey, beating us 5-2. They get the Gold, we get the Silver. Could have been because the ice guys at the E Center were Canadian and before the Olympics they burried a Cannadian coin at center ice. I don't know, maybe we should protest...

    Total Medals for the US 34!!!. (Germany was in 1st with 35). Very cool.

    One of these years I gotta make it to an Olympics...

    posted at 10:14 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Saturday, February 23, 2002

    SLC Day 16

    Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...

    The 46-year drought of no medals in bobsledding is over for the US after taking both Silver and Bronze in Four Man Bobsled! Russia won the Bronze medal in Ice Hockey after beating Belarus 7-2. Of course, Russia complained yesterday about the refereeing in yesterday's game against the US and now the International Ice Hockey Federation is pissed-off about the comments that were made by the Russians. Great... let's keep stirring that pot...

    Hmmm... somewhere, there's a South Korean feeling like justice was served (though a bt late)... Apolo Anton Ohno was disqualified for a collision with Japanese skater Satoru Terao on the next-to-last turn in a preliminary heat in the Men's Short Track 500m Speed Skating. Ohno had another chance for a medal in the Men's Short Track 5000m Relay, but Rusty Smith clipped a lane marker and fell with 26 laps to go and Team USA finished 4th. We didn't qualify in Ladies 1000m Short Track Speed Skating. Nothing in Ladies 5000m Speed Skating. And if it's Cross-Country skiing, you know that we didn't win anything in Men's 50 km Cross-Country Skiing. Nothing in Men's Slalom (Bode Miller fell twice and finished 25th).

    posted at 11:13 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    Wolves 3 - Grizzlies 0

    Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies Goaltender Norm Maracle Bobblehead Doll
    Went to the Chicago Wolves game tonight against the Utah Grizzlies. Huge crowd - 15,525. Don't really know why. I'm finding it hard to believe that the draw was the Norm Maracle Bobblehead Doll that was tonight's giveaway. We invited Janie & Gary (our White Sox buds) for their first Wolves game. I think they enjoyed it - after all, we won 3-0. Maracle was in net (probably because of the Bobblehead promotion) and he came through with a shutout. But you have to feel for the Grizzlies, though. This is their 16th game of their Road Trip. You see, they've been on the road for 32 days. They got "kicked-out" of their home arena - because it's the E Center and it's been occupied - it's the 2002 Winter Olympic Games Hockey venue! Things were "chippy" again tonight. The road trip has to be getting to them by now. Their first home game is Thursday February 28. (Their last home game was Saturday January 19.)

    posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Wolves § |
    Conference and Learning Center at Comiskey Park

    Carol going into Gate 3 at Comiskey Park Main entrance at Gate 3 to the Conference and Learning Center at Comiskey Park Welcome sign for the Open House Main Auditorium at the Conference and Learning Center at Comiskey Park The main tunnel under the stands at Comiskey Park Players have locker rooms, Umpires have dressing rooms... Row of lockers in White Sox clubhouse Ray Durham's locker Odd picture taped-up in Ray Durham's locker Rules for everything - MLB Uniform Policy hanging in White Sox Clubhouse Sign on door for access to White Sox dugout MLB rules for dugout access A view of the stands from field level at Comiskey Park The playing field at Comiskey Park Construction of the new Batter's Eye in center field at Comiskey Park
    Carol and I drove to Comiskey Park this morning to go to a White Sox Season Ticket Holder Open House. It was really to show off two things - the new "Conference and Learning Center at Comiskey Park" and one of the new amenities under construction at the park. The new center is actually inside Gate 3 at the park. They did a really nice job of it. There's a couple of different sized conference rooms and a 135 seat auditorium. The whole place can be leased for business meetings and is also going to be used for a joint partnership with the Chicago Public Schools' After School Matters program. Really nice. There's some unmarked double doors that open into the main access tunnel beneath the stands. The Conference Centers doors were right across the tunnel from the Visitor Clubhouse entrance. They had setup a series of picnic tables and had free hotdogs and soda. They also had some souvenir stands setup for some last minute purchases (we passed - nothing seemed to interest us). The White Sox Clubhouse was open, and they had access to the field. When we went outside, we were able to see one of the new upgrades to the park - the entire "batter's eye" section in the center field stands was ripped-out and was being rebuilt. It's now going to have plants and a green background (Green? Green? This is great! It's part of my campaign to get Comiskey to get rid of everything blue in the place and replace it with green! The place would look a lot more like a ballpark than a swimming pool!) On top, they'll have a see-though screen around a new "plaza" area. We couldn't see the other things going on - renovation of the main concouse, renovation of the Club Level concourse (but the seats were removed from club level - I thought I had heard that they were going to be upholstered). The last thing was replacing the backstop with a vertical screen. They didn't even start that. I love going to Comiskey for these things and see everything behind the scenes. I love being on the field (Roger Bossard the head greenskeeper is a god) and it's great seeing the field green in the middle of February.

    posted at 01:17 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Friday, February 22, 2002

    SLC Day 15

    Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...
    OK, first off, the Russians are still pissed and think the games are pretty nearly corrupt with judging problems. They were still threatening on leaving the games when President Putin finally had to say no, we are not leaving. Makes me think that emotions are a bit high in Salt Lake. Russia has always been a powerhouse in the Olympics, and maybe the 14 medals (5 Gold) isn't a good showing, and gee, their athletes' performances couldn't be the problem - oh, no... it must be a conspiracy against them... so let's file a protest against the judging in Women's Figure Skating... Viktor Mamotov, the head of the Russian delegation in Salt Lake City, said, "We filed the protest last night because we think the judging was biased. Canadian pairs skaters were awarded their gold medals. Now that subjective judging harmed us, we want the same for Slutskaya." As Jay Leno would say - "Shaaddduuupppp!". The ISU denied the protest.

    USA Men's Hockey beat (barely) Russia 3-2 to advance to the Gold Medal round. USA was leading 3-0 after 2 periods when Russia scored just 11 seconds into the 3rd and then again just 3:10 later. USA looked absolutely stunned, like they didn't know who was on the ice - like it was a totally different team they were playing against. They looked bad, like they were struggling. They looked so good during the first two periods. Man, I wonder if this is going to piss off the Russians some more... All of this on the 22nd Anniversary (to the day) of Team USA beating Russia in Lake Placid in the "Miracle on Ice"...

    Things are looking pretty good for the USA in Four Man Bobsled (sorry, I just can't get myself to say bobsleigh) after two runs - they're in First with two more runs tomorrow.

    The rest, well, not so good. Nothing in Ladies Giant Slalom. Nothing in the Men's Nordic Combined Sprint 7.5km. Nothing in Men's 10,000m Speed Skating, though I did see somebody (forgot who) who forgot where they were and just changed lanes because he thought he forgot to do it, then realized that, no, he wasn't supposed to be in the lane with the other guy so he changed back. Weird. Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands set a Olympic and World record with 12:58.92 - the first skater to break the 13-minute "barrier". And Canada lost to Norway 6-5 in an upset in the finals for Men's Curling.

    This evening was a non-medal event - the Skating Exhibition with all of the winners. Nice to see everybody just skating for the hell of it without the pressure of competing.

    When watching this, you realize that the Olympics are finally winding down.

    posted at 10:31 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Thursday, February 21, 2002

    SLC Day 14

    Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...
    Still mourning the fact that Skeleton was only one day. It just looks so cool... same for Jimmy Shea's helmet...

    Crazy news day, though. The Russians are threatening to pull out of the Olympics and possibly the 2004 Athens Summer due to judging improprieties (the Pairs Figure Skating debacle) as well as in protest over Cross Country Skier Larissa Lazutina being disqualified for having high levels of performance-boosting hemoglobin. The team leader said “This is a scandal. They are specifically hunting out Russian sportsmen”. Right after the Russian Press Conference, South Korea announced it is threatening pulling out of the Olympics and possibly the 2004 Athens Summer Games because of the DQ to their skater Kim Dong-Sung last night in favor of "the crowd favorite" Apolo Ohno. They are threatening to sue the Australian judge in US court and have hired a Salt lake City law firm. (It's the same Australian judge from Ohno's other race that he won Silver after the big wipe-out and the Australian skater breezes to Gold.) Jeez.

    The big deal of the Night - Ladies Free Skating. Oh, man. Sarah Hughes skated her ass off tonight! I thought she was great! Fell into first place with her skate! Sasha Cohen - well, not so good - she fell. Then Michelle Kwan - wow, she fell, too, but never gave up. I'm looking at the board - it's Hughes-Kwan-Cohen on the board when Russia's Irina Slutskaya comes out to skate. Wasn't clean, but no falls and maybe not as technically difficult as the others. Oh, man. This is actually suspenseful! Her marks go up - they look high. Then when the Ordinals come up they cut to the locker room to see a screaming Sarah Hughes and her coach! So the final is Hughes/Gold-Slutskaya/Silver-Kwan/Bronze! Cohen finished fourth. Boy, I wonder if this is going to piss-off the Russians some more. Slutskaya looks pissed. Michaelle looks like she wants to cry. Bad. Or maybe hide somewhere. Sarah just looked so damn happy in the medal ceremony! Slutskaya didn't look as pissed on the stand - she actually looked happy.

    Bode Miller won his second Silver Medal, this time in Men's Giant Slalom (he was 7th after his first run). He's the first USA man to medal in Giant Slalom.

    We finished 13th (LAST) in Women's Cross-Country 4x5 km Relay. The Women's Curling team lost to Canada 9-5 in the Bronze Medal Game. No medal. Bummer - I was hoping that USA would get something in Curling. Great Britain won in an upset. The Women's Hockey team Lost to Canada 3-2 in the Gold Medal Game, breaking a 35-game winning streak. (Sweden beat Finland 2-1 in the Bronze Medal Game.) I thought Team USA looked pressured during the game. Things were looking a little chippy and they were just all over the ice - I'm not sure how much under control they were.

    posted at 10:45 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    Radiation Therapy Chauffeur™ duty

    Well, I can see that this will start getting old very fast. Took Dad for his first radiation treatment. Just another 30-some to go. I asked Dr. Emami something we've never talked about - how far "down" does Dad's tumor go? He showed me a diagram that he produced for the radiology computer showing the radiation areas. It shows the tumor in his throat which looks pretty substantial, and must be about 3cm tall. The thing that got me was that there are 2 tumors down in the lungs that are being radiated as well. I didn't expect it. Well, yes I did - after I saw how dad was drawn on with blue markers by Jack and Leela yesterday. I wasn't ready for this. I'm just stunned. I don't know what I should read into this. So maybe this time I'm spending with Dad driving him back and forth isn't so bad after all.

    The world has turned upside down this afternoon. First I hear that kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearlis dead - at least he looks that way on a videotape that the US has. And I'm sorry, but I don't trust the Pakistani police to find everybody involved. I saw a show on DirecTV the other day, I think it was on the WorldLink channel, called "Karachi Kops". Let's just say it wasn't as good as Fox's "Cops" and it sure was suspiciously edited. I don't trust these guys.

    Then I hear that the US Olympic Committee has turned over all of fthe evidence they have to the FBI on death threats against Apolo Anton Ohno. It started after his first race, and after the disqualification of Kim Dong-Sung last night, the death threats apparently really escalated. Jeez. Oh, and there's increased security around the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia because of a possible attack. It's not over - a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in about 120 miles northeast of Mindanao in the Philippines with 12 aboard. This is all part of the war against terrorism - this time it's Abu Sayyaf, an offshoot of al Qaeda. What the hell is going on today?!?!?

    posted at 04:45 PM | Link | Family § |

    Wednesday, February 20, 2002

    SLC Day 13

    Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...
    SKELETON - gotta be my most favorite Olympic sport! Going headfirst at 80 mph down a bobsled track! Yes! That's my kind of sport! Now, it hasn't been in the Olympics since 1948, but this is primed for those X-Games types. In Men's Skeleton Jim Shea won Gold!. Very touching - he had his Grandfather's picture in his helmet (His grandfather was a Gold Medal Speed Skater and his dad was also in the Olympics, making this the first time in Olympic history where 3 generations in one family were Olympians). In Women's Skeleton Tristan Gale won Gold and Lea Ann Parsley won Silver! Great day for the sport and a great day for Sledding Medals for USA.. Too bad that's it for Skeleton - I want to see more!

    In Ladies 1500m Speed Skating Jennifer Rodriquez won Bronze, and Chris Witty came in fourth. In the Men's 1500m Short Track Speed Skating, well, Apolo Anton Ohno won Gold - only after Kim Dong-Sung of South Korea - who crossed the line first - was disqualified for something called "crosstracking" and interfering with Ohno. Great - another skating controversy. In Men's Hockey Play-offs Quarterfinals, USA shutout Germany 5-0. The real upset in Hockey today was unbeaten Sweden being beaten by Belarus 4-3.

    Today's downsides - nothing in Ladies Short Track 3000m Relay Finals, nothing in Ladies Slalom, nothing in Men's 4x7.5 km Biathlon Relay (but Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Noway won his 4th Gold Medal of the games) . In Women's Curling Semifinal USA loses to Switzerland 9-4. Nuts. But I think we might still be in a Bronze medal hunt.

    posted at 10:31 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Tuesday, February 19, 2002

    SLC Day 12

    Salt Lake 2002
    Olympic Update...
    Wow, not many negatives today, and a whole lot of cool things... On the negative side, we didn't even qualify for Men's Cross-Country Sprint or Women's Cross-Country Sprint. No action today for the Women's Curling team, who will play in a semifinal tomorrow against Switzerland. In Men's Freestyle Skiing Aerials Joe Pack got Silver. In Women's Ice Hockey Play-offs Semifinals, USA shutout Sweden 4-0. The Swedish goaltender Kim Martin is only 15 years old! (She turns 16 on Feb 28.) In Men's 1500m Speed Skating Derek Parra wins Gold (over Jochem Uytdehaage, who beat Derek at 5000m on Feb 9) and sets a new World and Olympic Record of 1:43.95! Now, Women's Bobsled (or Bobsleigh) was way cool tonight. First off, it's the first ever Women's Bobsled in the Olympics. Then you have a lot of "soap opera" going on with the USA team, specifically with Sled 1 (one of the NBC commentators said it's like a sausage - you know you like it, but you just don't want to know how it all came together!) Well, Sled 1 of Jean Racine and Gea Johnson (who had a bad hamstring) finished 5th. But, Sled 2 with Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers won Gold!!! That's the first Gold ever in Women's Bobsled, the first Bobsled gold (men or women) for USA since 1948, and Vonetta Flowers became the first African American ever to win a Gold Medal. How cool is that?!?!? Then to end the night, in Ladies Figure Skating Short Program, Michelle Kwan is in first, Sasha Cohen is in third, and Sarah Hughes is in fourth. All-in-all, not a bad day for USA.

    posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Monday, February 18, 2002

    SLC Day 11

    Salt Lake 2002
    Time for an Olympic update... (I'm still trying to figure out how I started this and why I'm keeping it up... )

    OK, well, let's see the not so good news... Team K120 Ski Jumping - 11th place. Women's Aerials Freestyle Skiing - 14th & 17th. Women's 4x7.5 km Relay Biathlon - 15th (LAST). The Men lost in curling against Great Britain 7-6 and are now in a three-way tie for 7th. Ice Dancing - 11th (Gee... the French took Gold... who would have thought...)

    On the plus-side, the Women's curling team whipped Norway 11-2, who conceded after 7 ends. The women are now in Third Place going into the medal rounds. Men's Hockey beat Belarus 8-1 and advance to their medal rounds.

    posted at 09:51 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Sunday, February 17, 2002

    SLC Day 10

    Salt Lake 2002
    Just watched Jamie Sale and David Pelletier get their gold medals for Pairs Figure Skating tonight after Ice Dancing Original Dance Program (yech). I thought it was really cool that they walked out with Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. And I actually heard Anton say that this was "a good decision".

    No medals in Ladies' Super-G, Two-Man Bobsleigh (when did it go from Bobsled to Bobsleigh?), Men's 4x10 km Relay Cross-Country Skiing, or Men's Nordic Combined Team 4x5 km Relay. Now in Women's Curling, USA beat Great Britain 6-5, and are now tied for Third. The men just lost to Finland 6-4, and are still tied for 7th.

    In Ladies 1000m Speed Skating, Chris Witty set a new World Record (1:13.83) and won Gold and Jennifer Rodriguez won Bronze.

    posted at 10:32 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    Updates from yesterday

    Salt Lake 2002
    Ouch! The crash in the last turn of the Men 1000 m Short Track Speed Skating Finals last night was pretty cool (if you can call it that). It was won by the only guy still standing - Australian Steven Bradbury. Apolo Anton Ohno had the presence of mind to slide over the line to get a silver. Joey Cheek got a Bronze in the 1000m Long Track Speed Skating - Kip Carpenter came in 4th, Nick Pearson came in 6th, and Casey FitzRandolph came in 7th (that seems like a lot of people - there were 44 people participating - popular event?)

    HEY! The Men's Hockey Team didn't win! OK, it was a tie with Russia - 2-2. If it wasn't for Brett Hull scoring with 4:30 left in the third, it would have been very disappointing. Russia outshot us 35-25. Didn't think it was going to turn into a tie.

    posted at 08:28 AM | Link | Olympics § |

    Saturday, February 16, 2002

    Wolves on TV

    Salt Lake 2002
    Carol & I went over to Chelby & Damian's tonight for dinner and to watch the Chicago Wolves on CLTV. The Wolves lost to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins 2-1, with all of the goals coming in the first period. Boy, this one was nasty. We were at the game when the Penguins came to town last month. It was ugly then and it was ugly tonight.

    So, in-between periods or when there were breaks, we kept flipping over to Olympic hockey to watch Chicago Wolves goaltender Pasi Nurminen in net for Finland in the game against Belarus. Finland won 8-1. Not a lot of shots on goal - Nurminen stopped 20 of 21. The one goal was on a Belarus power play.

    Why does it seem that I've been leaving friend's houses when the Short Track Speed Skating has been on this week? I wanted to see this, especially tonight when I heard the there was a four-person pile-up in the last lap in the Men 1000 m Finals. I'm watching curling now (The Men lost to Denmark 9-7 in an extra end (they're in 7th place now), and the women won against Russia 11-4 and won against Germany 7-6 and are now tied for 4th), and I don't think I can stay up and watch the Men's Hockey tonight...

    posted at 10:48 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    SLC Day 9

    Salt Lake 2002
    Daron Rahlves finished 8th and Thomas Vonn finished 9th in Men's Super-G. Jay Hakkinen finished 13th in Men's 12.5 km Pursuit Biathlon. USA beat Russia 11-4 in Women's Round Robin Session 8 of Curling. Team USA, consisting of Todd Lodwick, Matt Dayton, Johnny Spillane, and Bill Demong, finished third in the Team K90 of Nordic Combined. Team USA shutout Finland 5-0 in Women's Ice Hockey! Goalie Sara DeCosta now has two shutouts in a row.

    posted at 02:05 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Friday, February 15, 2002

    Team USA Hockey

    Salt Lake 2002
    The NHL players are finally in Salt Lake and watching hockey has turned even more interesting - probably because USA shutout Finland 6-0!

    posted at 11:46 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    SLC Day 8

    Salt Lake 2002
    Silver (Mark Grimmette & Brian Martin) & Bronze (Chris Thorpe & Clay Ives) in Luge Doubles!

    No medal in Women's Parallel Giant Slalom Snowboarding, but Chris Klug got a Bronze in Men's Parallel Giant Slalom Snowbaording. And Klug actually had a liver transplant about 19 months ago!!! That's just nuts for any athlete, to be able to survive and handle an severe illness and transplant surgery, but excel at your sport and then get a medal at the Olympics?!?!? (OK, I'm stretching my beliefs on Snowboarding being an Olympic sport here.)

    Men's Curling whipped France 8-3 earlier today.

    posted at 02:46 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    OLYMPIC NEWS CONFERENCE

    Salt Lake 2002
    Kevan Gosper IOC VP introduced everybody and moderated the news conference. Ottavio Cinquanta ISU President - they had information and evidence to have a meeting after skating last night. They debated the situation, and produced one decision, one deliberation. The decision - suspended the French figure skating judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne immediately because of enough evidence that was responsible of misconduct. The deliberation - basically, what to do - to have the result of the pairs of Canada and Russia made "equal". The deliberation information was turned over to the IOC. Jacques Rogge IOC President - there was an Executive Committee meeting this morning, and a Gold medal will be given to Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. In general, they just had very short announcements, and went quickly to a Q & A session. Of course, the majority of the questions were related to either about if there was going to be additional investigations (and apparently there will be) and if the IOC & ISU think the games, the sport, oh, just about everything is going to be or is damaged because of this.

    The medals are supposed to be presented after the last figure skating event, which should be the Ladies Free Skate on February 21.

    posted at 12:10 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    Court of Arbitration for Sport

    Salt Lake 2002
    The IOC and ISU is having a news conference in the next few minutes - this is a big deal for the Olympics. The Canadians asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to require the nine judges who scored the competition to testify before an arbitration committee. My guess is that the IOC & ISU didn't exactly like being pressured like that. There's rumors flying around that the French judge has left Salt Lake City.

    posted at 11:52 AM | Link | Olympics § |

    Thursday, February 14, 2002

    SLC Day 7

    Salt Lake 2002
    USA Women's Hockey!!! Whooo hooo!!!! They go on to the medal round (with Canada, Sweden, & Finland) after a 12-1 whipping of China! "Veteran" Cammi Granato (from Maywood, IL) had a hat trick. China had only 10 shots on goal (USA had 71!)

    I feel like I dropped into "commentator mode" for Olympic results...

    Nothing for USA Ladies Speed Skating 500m. Chris Witty finished 14th.

    Men's Curling - Well, it was a win over Switzerland 6-2, but we're 2-3 in 7th place. Doesn't look good for the men. The women lost to Denmark 9-4, and had a 2-2 record tied for 5th going into tonight's match with Switzerland, and it's not looking good there either. Looking at the "athletes" that participate in this game make me think that this is the "bowling" of the Winter Games - the people just look like bowlers.

    USA best was 15th (Kris Freeman) in Men's Cross-Country Skiing 10 km Free Pursuit.

    USA best in Ladies' Combined Downhill was 6th (Lindsey Kildow)

    Hmmm. one USA (Chris Klug - 11th) made it out of the qualifying round in Men's Snowboarding PGS (that's parallel giant slalom to us uninitiated).

    Well, it's evening so that must mean figure skating...Men's Figure Skating Free Skate is tonight... there was a few times I thought I was watching a Saturday Night Live sketch with the way the guys were falling. Russian Evgeni Plushenko almost landed the first quad-triple-triple in history. While watching him do a combination, Scott Hamilton called him "sick and twisted" in jest! He wound up in 1st. Well, I thought Timothy Goebel (from Evanston, IL) looked great to my untrained eye - there was a problem with a triple-axel, but he hit a quad late in his program. I thought he was a little better than the marks he got. Put him into 2nd with two skaters to go - Alexander Abt from Russia - who actually fell, and stepped out of a few things and whose marks were all over the place putting him in 4th, and finally another Russian Alexei Yagudin finishes up the program. And finishes without any "fire", but the program was good. The wait for Goebel has got to be a killer. I mean, he eventually knows he's going to get a medal - that's got a be a relief of sorts, but not knowing what kind of medal has to be a bit hairy. Must be my imagination, but there seemed to be a delay getting the marks up. He get's 4 6.0's for Presentation, the most for a man in the Olympics. So he get's the Gold, Plushenko gets Silver, and our Timothy Goebel gets a bronze!

    posted at 10:56 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    AHL All Star Game

    American Hockey League All-Star Game American Hockey League
    ESPN2 had the AHL All Star Game from the Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland. We (the Chicago Wolves) had only one player elected to participate - J.P. Vigier. I hated the commentators, who seemed to mispronounce any of the players from the old IHL teams. Vigier is supposed to be pronounced "vee ZHAY" instead of "vee GAYR" as the commentators said. And I thought that Bubba Berenzweig from the Milwaukee Admirals (and native of Arlington Heights) last name was pronounced "BAIR ens weyg" (long "i") instead of "BAIR ens wig" (short "i").

    Anyway, it was Canada against Planet USA - the delineation is that the Canadian team has members who where born in Canada, while Planet USA has players born anywhere else. It was a shootout, with Canada winning 13-10. Canada had 5 unanswered goals in the second half of the third, until USA scored their final goal with .2 seconds left. Canadian Mike Craig of the Cleveland Barons was MVP with a hat trick.

    posted at 08:56 PM | Link | Hockey § |
    Luge Fantasy Camp

    The Today Show just did a piece on a Luge Fantasy Camp! Now that looks great! They started the teaching process slowly, understanding the start, then the actually went out to the track and started half-way down, and eventually working their way up the hill. One of the students wiped-out and had a mild concussion! This looks like a great time!

    posted at 08:38 AM | Link | Mundane § |

    Wednesday, February 13, 2002

    Zamboni Fantasy Camp

    The Today Show just did a piece on Zamboni Fantasy Camp - a 2-day camp Utah Olympic Oval in SLC where they're setting records in Speed Skating! How cool would that be?!?!? At 4,675 feet in altitude, there's less room between water molecules, making the ice denser & "slicker".

    posted at 08:43 AM | Link | Mundane § |

    Tuesday, February 12, 2002

    SLC Day 5

    Salt Lake 2002
    I'm turning into a curmudgeon. I just can't seem to tolerate these X-Game-type "sports" in the Olympics. At least they put it into its own category - "Freestyle Skiing". They're showing today's Men's Moguls on TV now. Yes, I see how hard it is to do these things (I mean, Johnny Moseley was just fantastic), but they're just not Olympic sports, you know what I mean? (Travis Mayer got a Silver, though, and Moseley got knocked to 4th.) Between this junk and the Figure Skating Judging fiasco last night, my "curmudgeonness" is just getting tweaked-up a notch... and now the conspiracy theorists are coming out of the woodwork, saying that there was "collaboration" between the French and Russian judges. Canada has requested an investigation (or an ISU "internal assessment")

    Looks like Picabo Street has made it into retirement successfully. She finished 16th in Women's Downhill, just 1.61 seconds behind the leader and behind 11th place Jonna Mendes and 12th place Kirsten Clark. A very nice career. Too bad we didn't have a good showing for your sendoff.

    USA Women's Hockey team kicked butt in a 10-0 whipping of Germany.

    Hey! More speed skating medals in the Men's 500m! Casey FitzRandolph got a Gold (with his 34.42 Olympic Record run yesterday) and Kip Carpenter got a Bronze.

    Poor Todd Eldredge. He's 30 years old and he was all over the ice - and not in a good way. As I'm writing this, he's in 9th, behind Michael Weiss, who's in 8th, and Timothy Goebel who's still in 3rd. Another "old guy" is Elvis Stojko from Canada - he's 7th. Leading is Alexei Yagudin from (gee) Russia.

    Whooo hoooo! Another Curling Win! This Time it's the USA Women over Sweden 6-5. We're in second place after two games (we're 2-0!) The men are tied for forth (1-1 after two games)

    posted at 08:30 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Monday, February 11, 2002

    Wrong Call

    Salt Lake 2002
    Wrong!!! Wrong!!! Wrong!!! WRONG!!! This is why I hate judged sports! What kind of crap is this in Pairs Figure Skating?!?!? Those damn Canadians (Jamie Sale and David Pelletier) skated their asses off, even after colliding hard with the damn Russians (Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze) during the warm-ups! Screw those damn judges! Just because ONE judge doesn't give them a First Place ordinal??? And the NBC commentators talk about "being embarrassed for the sport". This is just damned wrong. And earlier we SWEEP the medals in that crappy X-Games Men's Snowboarding Halfpipe. Gee, whaddya know? It's a damned judged event! NO WONDER I don't like this! So whoopdeedoo. I REALLY felt for the Canadians. I can't get over this. They DESERVED it. Now the damn Russians retain their "dynasty".

    posted at 11:23 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    SLC Day 4

    Salt Lake 2002
    You know, even though I love downhill, Biathlon is pretty cool, too. You really have to be in great shape to ski at altitude, then do it for 20km, and oh, yeah, carry a rifle to stop and shoot - calmly at targets the size of quarters at 50 meters! And the event I'm watching now, 20 km Individual Men Biathlon has 87 people entered!

    Watched a piece of the Women's Preliminary Ice Hockey, with Canada and Kazakhstan. Canada won 7-0 (I mean, Kazakhstan? Are they a threat?) Canada out-shot them 66-11, 5 of the goals were on power plays. That means that the Kazakhstan goalie stopped 59 shots! I find it interesting that the women wear full-face cages on the helmets to protect their faces, and of course, the guys don't.

    No coverage on Curling today. Bummer. Such an odd sport, I feel that I need to watch. Right now the US is tied with Canada, Finland & Germany for first. Whoa! It's going to be on MSNBC in a few minutes! Cool! (US v Sweden) and CNBC has US v Canada tonight! OK, this is looking better...

    And somebody better be covering Men's Singles Luge! We missed a medal, but I want to see that. (50 entries in that event with one Did Not Finish and one Did Not Start (gotta wonder about that one...)). Instead , they'll probably air that crappy X-Game Snowboarding "sport" (and I use that term loosely). Guess they're showing Luge in-between sessions at Pairs Figure Skating. OK, gotta watch that, too...

    We got 500m Speed Skating, and whooo hooo! We're in First and Third Place after the first race. No new world record yet. That's also being broadcast tonight.

    posted at 04:06 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Sunday, February 10, 2002

    Downhill

    Salt Lake 2002
    Ahhh... my most favorite Winter Olympic sport is on... ooops... second most favorite - Downhill. No prissy snowboarding X-Games crap. Downhill. Speed. Danger. That's a sport...

    posted at 08:43 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    Wolves 5 - Griffins 2

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins
    Time for still another Wolves-Griffins game - the 11th time they met this season. But now, it's like the Wolves are making their move up, while the Griffins are tumbling. The Wolves beat the Griffins 5-2. Got a chance to finally see the new goalie - Frederic Cassivi. Very impressive moves. He's won every game he's started. I wonder how long we'll have him... I wonder if he'll get called-up once Pasi Nurminen comes back from the Olympics...

    posted at 07:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, February 09, 2002

    SLC Day 2 - Part III

    Salt Lake 2002
    OK, the US is tied with Austria with two medals, leading all countries after Day 1. I'm still getting the feel of the NBC coverage. I'm really pissed at the way they handled coverage of the first Medal Ceremonies tonight. In short - Bob Costas didn't know what was going on and since they had more Nordic Combined Ski Jumping today (was cancelled yesterday because of the weather), they went to that instead. Wouldn't a Field Producer have a clue on what was happening? At least show the first Medal Ceremony - the entire ceremony - so that we've got and idea of what's going on, then show just the individual ceremonies on the other nights. They showed Dave Mathews performing later tonight from the same damn stage without cutting away during a song. Just pissed me off. And what's with Chinese figure skaters? How can an entire team exceed in throws and at the same time nobody knows how to spin? If it was just one group, you would overlook it. But three separate pairs? Nice coaching!

    posted at 11:39 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    SLC Day 2 - Part II

    Salt Lake 2002
    Somebody needs to test the water that they make the ice from at the Utah Olympic Oval for Men's 5000m Speed Skating. Wow. 6:17.98, a new World and Olympic record in one of the heats (Derek Parra of the US), only to see his record go up in smoke minutes later as he's beat by Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands with a 6:14.66!

    posted at 04:03 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    SLC Day 2 - Part I

    Salt Lake 2002
    I guess the Olympics have officially started - Stefania Belmondo of Italy claimed the first gold of the games, winning the women's 15 km cross-country skiing event. Let's see how the rest of the events play out.

    posted at 11:40 AM | Link | Olympics § |

    Friday, February 08, 2002

    SLC Day 1 - Opening Ceremonies

    Salt Lake 2002
    Opening Ceremonies are over, the games have been declared open. Great to see/hear Jim McKay at the Olympics. I don't ever remember a commentator being "loaned" from one network to another to act as a correspondent. Unfortunately, Jim didn't fit in really well. I think that his time has unfortunately passed. VERY emotional watching the WTC flag being brought into the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium. Dead silence - a reverence that I didn't expect. And then the National Anthem by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir started off quietly, hauntingly, adding to the moment, eventually building to a great crescendo. A very good tribute to September 11 (it couldn't be ignored) without taking away from the Olympic spirit of the games. I thought the entertainment was good. Loved the Native American pieces. How cool is it to have George the 43rd declare the games open from the middle of the US athletes instead of some podium or private box?! (Even cooler is later watching figure skater Sasha Cohen handing the president her cell phone for him to say a few words to her friends or family!) Having Mike Eruzione and the rest of the 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. hockey team do the lighting of the cauldron was a good choice (I think). Is the cauldron water-cooled? I thought I saw water pouring down the insides of the glass. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!...

    UPDATE: Yep, that's water in the Olympic cauldron - the cauldron was made by WET DESIGNS, the guys that made the fountains in front of Bellagio in Las Vegas! The Washington Post had what I thought was an even-handed review of the Opening Ceremony coverage.

    posted at 11:51 PM | Link | Olympics § |
    Anticipation

    Salt Lake 2002
    Just three hours away from the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. Actually, I can't wait. I've spent time in and around Salt Lake City, and I really wanted to go to this Olympics, but it just wasn't meant to be. I love all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the ceremonies. And an actual benefit of unemployment? Being able to watch the MSNBC/CNBC live coverage during the day! OK, it's a little lame, but I have to put some kind of positive spin on the situation! I mean, I'm not a graphic designer/web designer getting a great job after such a long "vacation" (read: unemployment).

    posted at 03:56 PM | Link | Olympics § |

    Sunday, February 03, 2002

    Super Bowl XXXVI

    Super Bowl Website
    All I can say is WOW, WHAT A FINISH!!! It looked like a pretty crappy game until the end of the 4th quarter. St. Louis looked bad. Maybe the Patriots had it right when they elected to be introduced as a team instead of individually like everybody else usually does. They were pumped. They deserved the win (although, I don't believe they deserved to be at the SuperBowl to begin with, since that blown call in the snow game against Oakland).

    Halftime was OK, not great (Sorry you U2 fans). The pregame entertainment was fair (screw this crappy lipsyncing bit! Record it for backup only! Let the performers perform!) And I'm sorry but I just don't get Mariah Carey.

    Commercials were great but I felt that overall, the crop was weaker this year. And I really don't give a damn about my mlife! I'll have to check USA Today tomorrow to see how things rank. My fave - the Bud Light Falcon!

    posted at 10:01 PM | Link | Sports § |
    Wolves 2 - Griffins 1

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins Wolves warming up for skate around Scott in a promotion during 2nd intermission
    Went to the Wolves game today. It was originally scheduled for 4 o'clock, but they finally moved it to 1 o'clock to get it away from the Super Bowl. When we got there, before the skate around, they were playing the Bears Super Bowl Shuffle video on the scoreboard. We got a new goalie, Frederic Cassivi from the Colorado Avalanche. He won the last two games that he started, but he wasn't the first one onto the ice for the warmups (first goalie out is always the starter - today it was Pasi Nurminen).

    Well, it was the 10th time these guys have met. Good, fast, clean game. The Wolves beat the
    Griffins 2-1. The go ahead goal was shot by Rob Brown off of Steve Maltais' nose! Maltais got the credit!

    Throughout the game, I had a drunk that sat right behind me. And when I say drunk, I mean drunk. He spilled beer in the back of my seat (though not too bad.) He spilled a fresh beer on his seat, so he had to sit in the row behind - he slept through the entire second period - even with fireworks going off after we scored two goals!. Then, when he was sitting behind me during the third, he fell asleep again, tipping his fresh beer and pouring it - slowly - into the aisle. The guys with him just said this was "normal" and it occurred "365 days a year". Great.

    Our bud Scott who sits in from of us was in a 2nd intermission promotion on the ice. The object - stand at one end of the ice and throw a football into the net at the other end of the ice. There were 3 other people along with Scott trying this. They went through the group - no one got it, though Scott actually came close (the second guy had a GREAT arm). So since no one got it, they tried again. NOBODY GOT IT, so no prizes were awarded!

    After the game, Pasi Nurminen was sent up to the Atlanta Thrashers and then off to Salt Lake City as Finland's Olympic Goalie.

    posted at 04:48 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Friday, February 01, 2002

    SoxFest 2002

    GM Kenny Williams, Radio guy Ed Farmer & Manager Jerry Manuel Jeff listening to his answers with Doreen and Janie Jeff's questions signed by Kenny Williams Fox Sports Net Chicago broadcasting from SoxFest Pitching Clinic with Jon Garland and Jim Parque A group of fans at SoxFest Pitching Clinic Autograph session with Paul Konerko and Joe Crede Hyatt Regency Chicago atrium
    Well, we left home almost two hours before SoxFest was supposed to begin. We barely got there in time, due to the traffic. We were meeting our friends and season ticket holders Jeff & Doreen, and Janie & Gary at 5pm, when the doors opened. Well, when we got there, we had to go to a different floor because the line was so long. We knew that there was a security bag check before ewe went in, but had no idea what we were in for. We met everyone else while we were standing in line. The line started to move around 5:40pm! We went straight to the first (and only) scheduled seminar - a discussion session with General Manager Kenny Williams and Manager Jerry Manual, hosted by radio broadcaster Ed Farmer. The first thing we hear is something that literally just happened probably minutes before - we get Kenny Lofton as our new Center Fielder!!! Got him as a free agent with a one year deal. This is big deal!

    Well, Jeff gets in line to ask a question of Kenny Williams, the General Manager. It's long, involved, loaded with pointed questions. Kenny rolls his eyes and asks Jeff for his cheat-sheet that has the questions on them, so he can answer the whole thing. It was priceless. Kenny signed the questions for Jeff and gave them back. The audience seemed to like it. The thing about SoxFest is that you see management types like this and they don't dodge questions - they answer honestly - how many major league teams of any sport do that???

    We went downstairs to the main floor. Jeff & Doreen get into line to get an autograph from Paul Konerko (her favorite), so Carol & I with Janie & Gary go over to the Fox Sports Net stage where they broadcast live from 7-8 tonight. They were interviewing players throughout the show. Pretty cool.

    We walked through the exhibitors, picking a few trinkets along the way (hats, pins, signed baseballs, etc).

    There was always a White Sox Training Academy clinic going on - we watched a bit of the pitching clinic with pitchers Jim Parque and Jon Garland.

    We finally pick up Jeff & Doreen toward the end of the night from their autograph session, take a last walk through the exhibitors and then go to the Hotel lobby (Hyatt Regency Chicago) to hit their coffee shop for dinner. Dinner took almost two fricken hours!!!! Severely understaffed! Kelly Wunsch came in and sat down in a corner by himself for dinner. It was amazing how many people went over to bother him!!! Anyway, it was a great time at SoxFest. It hard to believe that the first pre-season game is 4 weeks from today!

    posted at 11:04 PM | Link | White Sox § |

    Sunday, January 20, 2002

    Wolves 0 - Griffins 1

    Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins
    I'm getting tired of watching these two teams play each other. This is the 9th time they've played. The Griffins beat the Wolves 1-0 in a game that was marked by not having tons of fights or penalties. But the Wolves just can't handle a puck. I've said that for a long time now, and you could see that tonight.

    posted at 09:56 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, January 19, 2002

    Welcome Back Michael, Goodbye Soldier Field, Good Job Danny

    Chicago Bulls Washington Wizards
    So, Michael Jordan comes back to the United Center. It's just a bit too much for him. He actually starts tearing-up during the player introductions and the only thing that "saves" him is the lights being turned out for the Bulls introduction. The AP report described it like this:

    As United Center announcer Ray Clay introduced Jordan before the game, the sellout crowd stood and started clapping and screaming. At first, he tried to ignore it, looking down at his blue-and-white Air Jordans and chewing on his lip. But as the ovation continued, Jordan finally looked up. His eyes filled with tears and he glanced around the arena that will always be home no matter where he's playing. He gave a shaky smile and waved at the fans, who adore him for the six titles he won with the Bulls -- even if he's no longer wearing that familiar red-and-black No. 23. One fan summed it up best, carrying a sign that read, simply, "Thanks, Mike." Clearly moved, Jordan looked around, seeming almost stunned by the lovefest.
    Michael's explanation:

    "I had a tough time playing against Chicago. It's like playing a relative, in a sense. It's not as intense, you're not quite as motivated."

    "I've got a statue sitting out front. It's going to be tough for me to come back and it just be another game. It's always going to be compared to what I did here. It's human nature. And I know that."

    More quotes:
    "I can say whatever I want about the uniforms and that the people have changed in those uniforms, but Chicago is Chicago, the Bulls are the Bulls, and the fans make the whole situation tough."
    "I've got a lot of gratitude for this city, for what they gave me and the motivation of playing, and here I am, I'm playing against their team."
    "I have too many memories," he said. "It's important for me not to come back and try to live up to that situation because that's tough. I may have a good game maybe the next time I come here. But to try to compare the two eras or the two situations, it's very, very tough."
    He had a career-high nine turnovers, and was just 7-of-21 from the floor for 16 points. The Wizards still won 77-69 (it's not like the Bulls were playing any good, either. In the first half The Bulls shot 16.7% on the first half.

    And you gotta like this: Jordan shows up two hours before the game, heading for the locker room. "Hey Michael!" someone yelled, "what's it going to feel like going to the visitor's locker room?" "I don't even know where it is," he cracked.

    Welcome back, Mike.

    Chicago Bears Philadelphia Eagles
    Then the Philadelphia Eagles show up at Soldier Field to play the Bears in the playoffs and handed them their hats. Eagles won 33-19 in a game filled with injury, all against the Bears. I hated this game. How could there be so many injuries and no penalties? I guess it boils down to another "homecoming" - Donovan McNabb (he grew up in the suburbs). He was 26 of 40 for 262 yards and rushed for 37 yards. And between McNabb and Duce Staley, they just killed us. And their defensive end Hugh Douglas just pissed me off. Everyone he touched seemed to get hurt. He drove Jim Miller to the turf and separated his shoulder. Later Mike Brown gets thrown to the turf at the sidelines and gets a concussion. Marty Booker gets a separated shoulder in the 3rd. Shane Mathews had to come in and play the rest of the game and this guy can't pass worth a damn (at least Miller could air it out once in a while). The Bears just didn't show up. At least Jerry Azumah got an interception (tipped by cornerback R.W. McQuarters) and touchdown.

    The game was over at 6:35pm. At 9:30pm, crews started dismantling Soldier Field. Workers began removing the seats (which will be sold for $200 a pair), taking down the goalposts (they're being taken to Champaign for next year). Crews had only 30 hours to clean everything and remove the seats before the power is to be switched off and the demolition begins.

    Goodbye Soldier Field. You'll never be the same.

    Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
    The Wolves were in Ohio, playing the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. Dan Snyder had a hat trick and the Wolves won 5-1. At least there was some joy in Mudville.

    posted at 11:07 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Monday, January 14, 2002

    Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party

    Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party Bryan Adams wins at Dome Hockey Wendell Young in net in Dome Hockey! Garnet Exelby and Dan Snyder Derek MacKenzie & his new stitches Steve Maltais and Dan Plante Norm Maracle and Dallas Eakins J.P. Vigier and Kamil Piros
    Went to the Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party at the Allstate Arena tonight - get together of ticket holders to eat crappy stadium food and meet all of the players, get their autographs, take their pictures, and maybe even play hockey with them - dome hockey or air hockey, that is. It was an OK time - it's never anything stellar, but a nice time.

    posted at 09:50 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, January 13, 2002

    Wolves 4 - Moose 5

    Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose Zdenek Blatny wearing special White Patriotic Jersey

    Went to another Wolves game tonight against the Manitoba Moose. We lost 5-4. Same officiating crew as last night... and they still suck. More fights. One of our guys (Clark) elbowed a guy and got 5 minutes (he drew blood), but he also got a game misconduct. I hate these guys. They did a real crappy job keeping control of the game both nights. Lots of missed calls and wrong calls.

    Today was the end of the patriotic jersey raffle and auction. There was a total of 60 jerseys up for auction (4 of them were up for raffle). I didn't win anything. bummer. They were great jerseys. And, of course, the prices at the auction were at the $1000 level for almost all of the jerseys. I think I heard they made about $71,000.

    posted at 07:42 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, January 12, 2002

    Wolves 7 - Barons 3

    Chicago Wolves Cleveland Barons J.P. Vigier receiving his All-Star Jersey from AHL President and CEO Dave Andrews J.P. Vigier wearing special Dark Blue Patriotic Jersey One of the MANY fights tonight A VERY crowded Cleveland Penalty Box
    Went to the Wolves game tonight against the Cleveland Barons. Wolves won 7-3. UGLY game. Four Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties in the 1st period. It just kept getting worse from there. The 3rd Period was unbelievable. Cleveland had three game misconducts, including one against the assistant coach. We wound up getting one game misconduct, which I thought should have just been a 10 minute misconduct. When was the last time you saw 2 7-minute power plays in one game? (2 minute instigating, 5 minute fighting, usually coupled with 10 minute misconducts and maybe a game misconduct). I think I heard on the post-game show on radio that Cleveland had a total of 144 penalty minutes. Cleveland now leads the league in Minor penalties (373), 10-minute misconducts (24), and game misconducts (12), and tied for gross misconducts (1). All of this in front of the President & CEO of the AHL, who was there to present J.P. Vigier with his All Star Jersey. (Vigier wound up getting a hat trick during the game. Think he was pumped?)

    The team also wore special Patriotic theme jerseys that were being auctioned this weekend. Tonight's jersey was dark blue. A very cool jersey. Proceeds from the auction are going to selected September 11 charities.

    posted at 10:51 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Sunday, January 06, 2002

    Champions

    Chicago Bears Jacksonville Jaguars
    Chicago Bears 33 Jacksonville Jaguars 13.
    CHICAGO BEARS NFC CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS
    Best play has got to be DT Keith "Tractor" Traylor juggling then intercepting a pass, and running 67 yards to setup a touchdown for the Bears to go up 20-0 in the third quarter. The run was priceless making everyone's highlight reel. It was great. He even was looking for someone to lateral to. Toward the end of the run, other Bears players were pushing him further down the field before he was finally taken down at the Jacksonville 9. We now have a first round bye. Very cool. Regular season - 13-3. Last year - 5-11 - LAST place. 1999 6-10 - Last place. 1998 4-12 - Last place. 1997 4-12 - Last place. Who woulda thunk?

    posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Bears § |

    Saturday, January 05, 2002

    DirecTV and The Wolves

    DirecTV
    Spent half the day going to stores to find things related to our DirecTV installation. First stop - cancel the cable and turn-in the cable box! That felt gooooood! Went to Radio Shack for a five-way phone jack for all my stuff in the family room. Had lunch at Sweet Tomato - a salad buffet place. Very good - we'll be going back there. Then to Best Buy to buy that replacement multiswitch. Oh, and buy the DVD of Buckaroo Banzai. Then off to home, replace the equipment, call DirecTV to resend the authorizations and voila everything works. I can't stop talking about how great DirecTV is. Great programming choices, great picture quality (I love the Sony receivers), and above all, great customer service.

    Chicago Wolves Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins
    Went to the Wolves game tonight against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. First time the teams have met. The Penguins have the most penalty minutes in the entire league. (1,267 minutes - the closest teams are Cleveland and Philadelphia both with 1,089. The Wolves have 756. Wonder if that's why they also lead the league in attendance. They're also the worst in the league - they're 7-22-7-3.) Things got pretty bad with fighting, but they calmed down by the third. They wound-up with a 3-3 tie. It was Elvis night at the game - Elvis impersonators performing in the lobby, Elvis costume contest during the first intermission. Strange.

    posted at 11:29 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Saturday, December 29, 2001

    Wolves 3 - Moose 6

    Chicago Wolves Manitoba Moose
    I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out... Went to the Chicago Wolves game tonight. The Wolves lost 6-3 to the Manitoba Moose. Lost their last 4 now. They're looking bad. I don't understand what's happening I don't trust any of our goalies. I don't trust our defense. I don't trust our vets - they're old and slow in this fast-paced play of the AHL. The new kids just get called up or sent down, so there's always a constant change in lineups. Not to mention injuries.
    The first regulation goaltender fight in Wolves history
    There's bad blood between the teams. The Wolves lost to the Moose in Manitoba Thursday night 4-0. Bob Nardella got a Game Misconduct for spearing. It obviously spilled over tonight, where we saw a rarity at 17:34 into the 1st period: both goalies - Norm Maracle & Alfie Michaud - skated to center ice, dropped their gloves and masks and went at it! Hard to understand, though - the both of them were smiling and laughing through the pummeling. Both got 5 for fighting and 2 for leaving the crease (which, somehow, I didn't realize was an actual penalty). At the Allstate Arena they also announced that both goalies got game misconducts - which they rescinded or corrected after the start of the second period.

    posted at 10:54 PM | Link | Wolves § |

    Wednesday, December 26, 2001

    Sorry, Mike

    Washington Wizards
    Well, MJ had 28 points, but that couldn't get the Washington Wizrds to a franchise record 10-game winning streak. They lost 99-93 to Charlotte.

    posted at 10:09 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Monday, December 24, 2001

    Bye bye Tim... not gonna miss ya

    Chicago Bulls
    Tim Floyd, coach of the Chicago Bulls, resigned this afternoon. He had a 49-190 record in four seasons with the Bulls. They're 4-21 this year alone - worst in the NBA (last year was 15-67, again the worst in the NBA). Why am I not surprised? Why is Jerry Krause still there?

    How weird of a Chicago sports day is this? just two hours earlier, the Chicago Bears announced that Dick Jauron will get a contract extension after the season.

    posted at 11:30 PM | Link | Bulls § |
    Baseball!

    Chicago White Sox
    Fox SportsNet Chicago is running a White Sox game from June 3rd.
    Basebaaaaallllllllllll...... aaaaaahhhhhhhhhgggllllllll.....
    Man I miss baseball.....

    posted at 12:48 PM | Link | Mundane § |

    Sunday, December 23, 2001

    Bears 20 - Redskins 15

    Chicago Bears Washington Redskins
    Chicago Bears 20 Washington Redskins 15.
    Great game. Great run by Leon Johnson for a TD. Fake Field Goal, Maynard to Urlacher for a touchdown!. Held the 'skins within the 3 in the last 2 minutes. Metcalf fumbles a free kick and the Bears get it back with 12 seconds left. 11-3 for the season, first time since 1988.

    Who are these guys?!?!?!?!?!?

    posted at 03:16 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Wednesday, December 19, 2001

    7 in a row

    Washington Wizards
    WTF... The Washington Wizards have won seven in a row. They're 12-12. Of course, the damn Bulls are 4-19 (0-13 on the road). Thank you MJ.

    posted at 10:51 PM | Link | Sports § |

    Tuesday, December 18, 2001

    First Bowl Game?

    Jeez... there was a College Bowl game tonight (The New Orleans Bowl)... seems pretty damn early for this...

    posted at 11:18 PM | Link | Mundane § |

     

    That's it for the entries in this particular Archive of my blog. If you want, you can look through other entries by selecting the links in the right-hand column of this page under either Archives by Month or Archives by Category, or you can search the site for specific keywords by using the Search page.

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